Road closed today
Attention all residents and
property owners. N.E. Second
Street, west of N.E. 60th Av-
enue will be closed to all traffic
on Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 9
a.m. until 2:30 p.m. This is nec-
essary to change out a drainage
pipe under N.E. Second Street
at N.E. 60th Avenue. For ques-
tions, please call 863-763-3031.

Window contest
deadline extended
Okeechobee Main Street
has extended the deadline for
the Holiday Window Contest
to the Monday, Dec. 8. Win-
dows will be judged on Satur-
day, Dec. 13. To participate in
the contest, please call or email
Toni Doyle with your business
name, address, contact person
and phone number. Call Main
Street at 863-357-MAIN (6246)
or email okms@mainstreeto-
keechobee.com.

OUA flushing lines
On Thursday Dec. 4, the
Okeechobee Utility Authority
will be flushing lines along SW
24th Avenue (Eagle Bay Drive),
starting at SW 28th Street and
ending on State Road 70. Cus-
tomers living in the area along
this route may experience dis-
colored water and lower than
normal pressures during this
time. Flushing time will begin
at approximately 8 a.m. and
end about 1-2 p.m. OUA is do-
ing this to help improve water
quality in this area and regrets
any inconvenience.

'Christmas in the
Country' Dec. 4
Okeechobee County starts a
new tradition with a Christmas
in the Country celebration on
Dec. 4, from 6 until 9 p.m. at
the Agri-Civic Center. The tree
lighting will be at 6:30 p.m.
Music will be by Keith Stripling.
Come and celebrate with food,
pony rides, bounce houses and
a hay ride for a good ole' fash-
ioned "Country Christmas!"

By Eric Kopp
Okeechobee News
A local couple have been
charged with burglarizing an
Okeechobee home and then
nearly running over the 79-year-
old homeowner as she tried to
stop them from fleeing.
Jason Thomas Adams, 24,
N.W Fourth Ave., and Jennifer
Kristine Conner, 24, of the same

aggravated assault with a motor
vehicle and armed burglary. He
was booked into the Okeecho-
bee County Jail under a bond of
$146,000.
Conner was charged with
grand theft, armed burglary and
grand theft/firearm. Her bond
was set at $120,000.
According to OCSO Detective
Ted Van Deman, it is estimated
that more than $1,000 worth of
items were taken from the home
of the elderly woman.
Detective Van Deman said
when the woman returned home
shortly after 1 p.m. on Mon-

Tree lighting: Kicks off the Holiday Season

day, Nov. 24, she saw a vehicle
parked in her carport. Because
she didn't know who the car be-
longed to, she began to honk her
horn. A white female unknown
to the homeowner then came
to the front room window and
looked out.
Because the elderly woman
did not know who was in her
home, she backed up to the end
of her driveway and blocked
the drive with her car. She then
waved down a Fed Ex delivery
man who notified the sheriff's
office.
The detective said before a

deputy could arrive, Adams and
Conner came out of the home
and got into their red 1994
Dodge Intrepid and tried to flee,
but the woman's 1998 Mercury
was blocking their path.
"The suspects demanded
that she remove her car, but she
refused," said Detective Van De
man.
He said the woman put her
hands on the hood of the sus-
pect's car and told them they
weren't going anywhere.
But, Adams gunned the
See Burglary Page 2

Fourth trailer

up in flames in

Treasure Island

By Charles M. Murphy
Okeechobee News
State Fire Marshall investi-
gators continued to investigate
three fires in the Treasure Island
neighborhood the past week-
end and now have a fourth fire
to investigate.
The latest was immediately
ruled an arson as firemen said
they found a gasoline can on
the porch and a pile of clothing
and a sofa and love seat on fire
when they arrived at 3941 S.E.
25th Street, Sunday night just
before 6:30 pm.

"We think this might have
been more of a disgruntled ten
ant and we are looking at some
leads," Investigator Anthony
Stafford said. He noted there
are other leads coming in on
the earlier blazes as well.
"This was ruled an arson.
We continue to work in the
neighborhood and get informa-
tion," he added.
The latest fire caused about
$40,000 in property damage
according to a fire report from
See Trailer Page 2

Recycled tree is a

holiday masterpiece

This year marks the 1Oth an-
nual Festival of Trees, a silent
auction of artificial Christmas
trees decorated and donated
to Hospice by businesses and
individuals.
Several months ago,
Okeechobee Landfill staff
decided on its theme for the
Hospice Festival of Trees dona-
tion. Much of the landfill staff
participated to create a unique

tree for this important fund-
raiser. The idea was to make
a recycled Christmas tree. The
goal was to either reuse or re-
purpose items to construct and
decorate a tree. The outcome is
amazing.
"The limbs were actu-
ally the first thing we came up
with," said Waste Management
See Tree Page 2

By Katrina Elsken
Okeechobee News
Big Lake Missions Outreach
served up 580 Thanksgiving
dinners to feed the poor people
of Okeechobee last Thursday.
"That's a lot more than pre-
vious years," said Director Mary
Ann Swinford. "The need is
great this year."
Seventy-four meals were
served under a tent at the First
United Methodist Church. Vol-
unteers delivered 506 meals
to Big Lake Missions clients all
over Okeechobee County.
Mrs. Swinford said dona

tions and help from local
churches, businesses and indi-
viduals made the Thanksgiving
outreach possible. She said the
delivered meals were provided
by More-2-Life Ministries.
Mrs. Swinford and her hus-
band Bruce run the mission
outreach which provides meals
for the homeless and the poor
six days a week. She said they
are seeing fewer homeless peo-
ple in the area, but more hun-
gry people. The mission has
been in operation in Okeecho-
bee County for 14 years, she
said.

"We aren't seeing that
many homeless individuals
anymore," she said. "There are
about a dozen. But we are see-
ing more families with children
come in."
In the past two months, the
mission has grown from serv-
ing about 25 meals a day to 50
meals a day at the First United
Methodist Church facility, she
said.
"We are seeing families that
used to bring home $1,000 a
week, but the husband has
been laid off and now they
See Dinner Page 2

Submitted photo
This unique tree, created by WM landfill staff, was built with
all recycled materials and donated to the Hospice Festival
of Trees for one of their most important fund raisers.

Qtadss

2 Okeechobee News, Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Burglary
Continued From Page 1
Intrepid's motor and as the car
lurched forward the victim had to
jump out of the way to keep from
getting run over, said the detective.
Adams then rammed his car into
the woman's Mercury, pushed it
out of the way and fled the scene,
the detective continued.
The delivery man tried to fol-
low Adams and Conner but was
unable to keep up in his truck, ac-
cording to Detective Van Deman.
Detective Van Deman ex-
plained that Deputy Hurst re-
ceived information that the red
Dodge could be found at a home
in Whispering Pines. When the
deputy went to the home shared
by Adams and Conner he found
a red Dodge Intrepid with body
damage and silver paint transfer
that matched the color of the vic-
tim's Mercury.
Deputy Hurst also learned
that the Dodge had recently been
painted and that there had been
no body damage to the vehicle at
that time.
After obtaining a search war-
rant on Tuesday, Nov. 25, depu-
ties recovered many of the items
reportedly stolen from the wom-
an's home, said Detective Van De-
man.

Tree
Continued From Page 1

Community Relations Represen-
tative Jenny Pung. "We had left-
over 3-foot tomato stakes from
a 'recycling relay' event in April.
We decided to use those stakes
and incorporate plastic water
bottles for the limbs." The water
bottles were sprayed green, cut
and strung along the stakes. The
bottom-parts of the water bottles

Dinner
Continued From Page 1

have no income coming in," she
explained. Once unemployment
benefits run out, it doesn't take
long to go through a family's sav-
ings.
"Our phone is ringing off the
hook," said Mrs. Swinford. "We
work 12 to 14 hours a day. Last

"He had already pawned
some of the items at a local pawn
shop," he added. "We have a
hold on those items at the pawn
shop."
Adams and Conner are ac-
cused of taking jewelry and an
antique revolver with ivory grips

Detective Ted

were cut off and serve as 'stop-
pers' to keep them on the stakes.
The trunk of the tree is an
HDPE (high density poly-ethyl-
ene) plastic landfill pipe and the
base is a HDPE cap that Okeecho-
bee Landfill had. From the star to
the skirt, it is all reused. The stars
are nesting-type boxes received
by the office staff last holiday
season. They are skewed with a
tomato stake too. The skirt is a
round tablecloth purchased from
Goodwill. The one-of-a-kind or
naments were made from items

year we helped over 15,000 peo-
ple."
And the need is growing, she
explained, as more people are
out of work and fewer jobs are to
be found.
"What I don't understand
is why people are coming to
Okeechobee to look for work,"
she said. "We don't have enough
jobs for the people who are al-
ready here. I don't know who is
telling people to come here."

from the woman's home. They

such as old Christmas cards,
floppy disks, shredded paper,
popcorn style packaging and alu-
minum cans.
"Creating this recycled tree
was a great project. It brought
together a lot of different employ-
ees' thoughts and ideas. It was a
challenge to see how 'real look-
ing' we could make and decorate
a tree using water bottles and oth-
er items we already had. We are
always proud to participate in the
community, and hope our unique
tree might help draw some new

With Christmas season upon
us, the Mission is busy collecting
donations of toys and food for
needy families.
Mrs. Swinford said the Lions
Club donated some trees on Fri-
day and those have already been
given out to families. They al-
ready have a list of families who
have requested help. She said the
Mission coordinates with other
toy drives to make sure no one
"double dips."
The mission is non-denomi-
national and encourages every-
one to attend the church of their
choice.
The Mission thanks everyone
who helped make the Thanksgiv-
ing dinner a success, including:
Publix, Adron Fence, Donna Wat-
son, Donut Connection, Killiards,
Greens, Elizabeth and Todd Add-
ington, Tyler Addington, Debbie
Davies, Charity Olivarez, Cath-

plained the detective.

also reportedly threw a large The detective went on to say
amount of costume jewelry into that because of items found in the
Chandler Slough, said Detective home, he applied for and received
Van Deman. That jewelry has a second search warrant. As a re-
been recovered. suit of that search, Detective Van
"He knew the heat was on and Deman said this investigation will
Sw ti i i" continue.
he was trying to get rid of it," ex-

S\
C. \

V-V

Okeechobee News/Eric Kopp
Van Deman of the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office fills a table with jewelry

faces to Hospice's Christmas tree
auction," Ms. Pung added.
All proceeds from the silent
auction benefit Hospice patient
care in Okeechobee, including
the Hamrick Home. The Festival
of Trees is currently open and
runs daily through Sunday, Dec.
7. The auction is held in the Hos-
pice Blue Volunteer Building on
S.E. 4th Street. Call 863-467-2321
for viewing hours, or more infor-
mation.

suomlmea pnoto
Okeechobee residents gathered near the First Methodist
Church for Big Lake Mission's Thanksgiving dinner for the
needy.

Trailer
Continued From Page 1
Paramedic Shannon Kinman of
Okeechobee County Fire Res-
cue. The report said the single
wide mobile home was vacant.
The fire was burning in the living
room area and firemen were able
to contain the flames to that one
room.
Five units and 10 firemen were
on the scene for about 90 min-
utes. The fire was put out in a
matter of minutes with less than
100 gallons of water.

Investigator Stafford said in-
formation from the public is still
being sought to help in the ear-
lier fires. The three previous fires
were on Southeast 26th Street.
There have been no injuries in
any of the fires, but more than
$400,000 in property damage has
now been done. A fire on Nov. 24
at 4036 S.E. 26th Street was ruled
an arson last week. The causes of
the first two fires remain undeter-
mined.
Anyone with information can
call the Okeechobee County Sher-
iff's Office at 763-3117 or the State
Fire Marshall in West Palm Beach
at 561-681-6389.

Today: Sunny, with a high near 72. North northwest wind between
5 and 10 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49. East wind around 5
mph becoming calm.
Extended Forecast
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. North northwest
wind between 5 and 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 51. Calm
wind.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77. North wind 5 to 10 mph
becoming east.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly cloudy, with
a low around 53. North northeast wind around 5 mph.

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your home is within our present
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Call 800-282-8586 to report a missed
newspaper or poor delivery.
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available for 50 cents Wednesday and
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that was reportedly stolen from the home of a 79-year-old Okeechobee woman. The detec-
tive was putting the items on the table to dry after they were retrieved from Chandler Slough
where they were allegedly thrown by Jason Adams and Jennifer Conner, who have been
charged in the case. "He (Adams) knew the heat was on and he was trying to get rid of it,"
said the detective.

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Okeechobee News, Wednesday, December 3, 2008 3

Solar energy plant introduced in Indiantown

By Charles M. Murphy
Okeechobee News
John Denver sang "Sunshine
on my shoulders always makes
me smile." Sunshine in the sky
can put a smile on Florida Power
and Light and its customers.
Florida Power and Light broke
ground on the Martin Next Gen-
eration Solar Energy Center in In-
diantown Tuesday.
The new 75 megawatt center
is designed to capture the power
provided by the sun in the sun-
shine state and turn it into clean,
affordable energy.
The plant will use less fossil
fuels and generate power from
180,000 mirrors capable of sup-
plying power to 11,000 homes.
"The next generation of Florid-
ians is counting on us to address
the most pressing energy chal-
lenges of our time," FPL Group
Chairman and CEO Lew Hay said,
"With this new facility, we will
capture the power of the sun to
fight climate change and provide
the state with clean, affordable
energy."
Company officials said the
plant will reduce the use of natu-
ral gas and fossil fuels. That will
reduce the amount of greenhouse
gases that enter the atmosphere.
Company officials said 2.75 mil-
lion tons of greenhouse gases will
not enter the atmosphere due to

By Eric Kopp
Okeechobee News
Hilario Auguilar was trying to
see his sister but, unfortunately,
he was at the wrong house.
To make matters worse, he
was eventually arrested Nov. 26
on a felony drug charge.
Auguilar, 24, S.R. 70 W, was
charged with the felony of pos-
session of cocaine as well as the
misdemeanor of disorderly intox-
ication. He was booked into the
Okeechobee County Jail under a
bond of $3,000.
Deputy Corporal Chris Hans, of
the Okeechobee County Sheriff's
Office (OCSO), stated in his re-
port that Auguilar was apparently
trying to gain entrance into an
18-year-old woman's residence

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this plant which is the equivalent
of 18,700 vehicles being removed
from the road every year.
Mr. Hay said Thomas Edison
realized the potential of solar en-
ergy, even back in 1931. He said
solar energy is finally becoming
of age. "The solar energy future is
starting here today with a state of
the art solar ray," he said.
The solar portion of the com-
pany's entire energy sources is
rather miniscule, but will grow,
Mr. Hay said.
"If you ask me, we've made a
pretty good start," he said.
Mr. Hay said solar today is
ready to transform the way elec-
tric is used in the United States.
He said wind energy was at this
point about a decade ago.
"When heat from the sun is
available we will use less natural
gas," he added.
Mr. Hay also compared this
plant to hybrid cars, who were
once thought of as just experi-
ments that might never work.
Hybrid vehicles have sold well
and Hay thinks solar power will
have the same future.
"We still need public support
for renewable energy," he added.
Mr. Hay said the business suc-
cess and the planet's health is at
stake with this issue of alternative
fuels.
Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp
said this was a significant day for

around 7:41 p.m. Wednesday.
When Auguilar was confronted
by the deputy
his sister lived in
the home. But,
wrote Cpl. Hans,
neither Auguilar
nor his sister live
there.
Cpl. Hans
stated in his Hilario
report that the Aguilar
woman who
lives in the residence said Au-
guilar had tried to gain entrance
into her residence before, but had
gone away after a short period of
time.
The deputy said the man
wreaked of alcohol so he was

the sunshine state. He said this
project takes courage.
"It takes a lot of courage to look
beyond tomorrow to the horizon,
that is what Florida Power and
Light has done. Solar energy is a
big part of the future," he said.
Mr. Kottkamp said this facility
could change the course of his-
tory. He said this is the only hybrid
solar facility in the world.
"Many many families are im-
pacted by the work that is done
here every day and will be for
generations to come," he added
Mr. Kottkamp said there is a
direct link between the environ-
ment and the economy. He said to
protect the economy of the state,
his administration has worked to
preserve Florida.
"In over 30 years this facil-
ity will prevent 2.75 mill tons of
carbon emissions being sent into
the atmosphere. Can you imagine
that impact?" he asked.
Mr. Kottkamp said the sun-
shine state is the best location
for this type of facility. He praised
FPL for their commitment to the
future of the state.
The solar plant, located at the
FPL plant off Warfield Boulevard,
will be one of three solar plants
developed by FPL in Florida. The
two others will be at the Kennedy
Space Center, and the third in
rural Desoto County. At comple-
tion these plants will provide 110

male juvenile have been booked
into the Okeechobee County Jail
on a charge of armed robbery.
Joel Jeremiah Ibanez, 20,
Placid Lakes Blvd., Schvail Eric
Knowles, 21, St. Lucie Drive, and
Samantha O'Hara, 15, were all ar-
rested Sunday, Nov. 30. A detec-
tive with the Okeechobee County
Sheriff's Office (OCSO) said they
are accused of striking and rob-
bing an 82-year-old man of an un-
disclosed amount of cash while
he was in his home.

not actively take
part in the bur-
glary but was
reportedly the
"getaway driv-
er."
Ibanez and Joel
Knowles were Jeremiah
both charged Ibanez
with armed burglary, battery on
the elderly and contributing to
the delinquency of a minor. Bond
for them had not been set as of
newspaper deadline.

Schvail Eric Samantha
Knowles Ann O'Hara
O'Hara was charged with
armed burglary, battery on the
elderly and operating a motor
vehicle without a valid driver's
license. After being booked into
the county jail, she was taken to
the Department of Juvenile Justice

placed under arrest for disorderly
intoxication.
According to the report, while
Cpl. Hans was looking through
the man's wallet for some sort
of identification he found a small
plastic baggie. Inside the baggie
was a white powdery substance
that, when field tested, indicated
a positive result for the presence
of cocaine.
The powder weighed approxi-
mately 1 gram, stated the report.
Auguilar was later identified by
another deputy at the county jail.
Cpl. Hans went on to state that
Auguilar was trespassed from the
woman's property to prevent any
further problems.

megawatts of power and be the
second larger producer of solar
energy in the nation.
FPL already is an alternative
energy provider as they have a
large wind power operation in
16 states. Those projects create
some 5800 megawatts of power
and power more than 1 million
homes.
The Lt. Governor and Con-
gressman Elect Tom Rooney were
among the local dignitaries at the
ceremony.
Several local officials were on
hand. A group of girls from Hope
Rural School led the crowd in the
pledge of allegiance.
The South Fork High School
Junior ROTC presented the colors
for the program.
Fr. Nestor Rodriquez of Sacred
Heart Catholic Church in Indian-
town provided the invocation.
The area's new congressman,
Tom Rooney, said Florida is a par-
adise, and this is a perfect day in
paradise.
"We talked a lot about en-
ergy independence during the
campaign, people are concerned
about it. Wind and solar appeared
to be a pipe dream, now we see
it in action. This is the future," he
said.
Audubon of Florida President
David Anderson said there focus
is to achieve a healthy balance
between the needs of their com-

charges
Detention Center in Ft. Pierce.
Detective Van Deman said the
man was not seriously injured,
although he reportedly did have
some swelling and a small cut to
the back of his head after he was
thrown to the floor of his home.
An OCSO arrest report by Dep-
uty Joseph Hall states that two
men went into the man's N.W
47th Terrace home armed with a
handgun. According to the report,
one man grabbed the man from
behind "in a bear hug," demand-
ed money then threw him to the
floor -- causing him to hit his head
on the floor.
The victim reportedly told
Deputy Hall that he heard this
man say to the other man: "Why
don't you shoot him!" The other
man, said the victim, had a black
revolver in his hand, the deputy's
report stated.
It was learned later by Deputy
Hall that the gun was a.22 caliber
revolver, according to his report.
Shortly thereafter both men
ran out the door.
The trio was spotted on N.W
47th Avenue in a white Lincoln
Town Car by OCSO Deputy Ser-
geant Shannon Peterson. When
the car pulled into a driveway
on that street the two men were
placed under arrest by Sgt. Peter-
son.
O'Hara, continued the report,
got out of the car she was driv-
ing and walked to the back of a
house. She was arrested a short
time later.
While searching the vehicle,
deputies found 10, .410-gauge
shotgun shells, the report stated.
Also, two similar type shells were
found in O'Hara's purse, added
Deputy Hall's report.

munities and the protection of
resources. He noted the depen-
dence on fossil fuels has been a
major challenge.
He noted droughts, fires, and
hurricanes are among the prob-
lems caused by climate change.
He said scientists want a reduc-
tion in green house gases.
"We need to phase out dirty
energy and build a clean, vibrant
economy," he noted.

Anderson said Audubon ap-
plauds FPL for their efforts. He
also applauded Governor Charlie
Crist for his leadership in the de-
velopment of non polluting en-
ergy options.
"Its not just for birds and wild-
life, this is also important for our
economy, now and in the future,"
he added.

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On Thursday December 4th, 2008 the
Okeechobee Utility Authority will be flushing
lines along SW 24th Avenue (Eagle Bay
Drive), starting at SW 28th Street and ending
on State Road 70. Customers living in the
area along this route may experience discol-
ored water and lower than normal pressures
during this time. Flushing time will begin at
approximately 8:00 AM and end about 1-
2PM. OUA is doing this to help improve
water quality in your area and sorry for any
inconvenience this may cause you.

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4 OPINION Okeechobee News, Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Speak Out
Speak Out has moved online, where it is quicker and
easier to share your ideas and converse with others. Go to
www.newszap.com, click on the community name and your
local or state Public Forum. There, you can create new
topics or comment on existing topics. You can also e-mail
comments to okeenews@newszap.com or call 863-467-2033,
but online comments get posted faster and not all phone calls
can be printed. What follows is a sampling of some of the
discussions currently taking place. Thanks for participating!
BIBLE: The Bible says there is some stuff that people are willing
to overlook. There are so many contradictions in the Bible. God did
make gay people, whether you believe it is a choice to be gay or not,
they came from God, and God gave them free will. How is this any
different than adulterers and people who work on Sundays? If you're
going to hate on one group because the Bible says to, hate on all of
them, or come up with a new reason than just "the Bible says it".
HOLIDAYS: One of the greatest things about the holiday season is
the joy of giving seeing that wide grin when you've given a loved one
exactly what they wanted. This year I encourage you to put that grin
on the faces of thousands of shelter volunteers across America by giv-
ing to the dogs in their care. Monetary donations are always valuable
to rescues and shelters, but that's not the only way you can help. You
can also give your time and share your positive energy with these ani
mals who may be very lonely. Offer to take a dog on a walk. Provide
old blankets or towels to warm up those cold kennel floors. Or even
sing Christmas carols to the dogs and staff. Don't go into the shelter
feeling sorry. Instead, share calm-assertive and loving energy. Give the
dogs a day to remember, and help keep the staff motivated and ap-
preciated for all the hard work they do for the animals we love.
OHS: There was an interesting article in the Okeechobee News
Sunday edition about the OHS Graduation Rate increasing by 6.7%,
more than twice the state increase and more than any other sur-
rounding county. The graduation rate is measured by the number of
students graduating within fours year of their first enrollment in 9th
grade. The OHS African American graduation rate increased by 19.1%
when the state rate improved by only 3.9%. The Hispanic graduation
rate increased by 15.7% when the state rate improved by only 3.1%.
The assistant superintendent graciously gave credit to the parents for
encouraging their children to stay in school, to the community for
supporting educational activities, to the teachers and administrators
for preparing and supporting engaging lessons and keeping school
interesting, and of course to the students who recognize the value of
education and work diligently to get their diploma. It is nice to recog
nize the wonderful things happening at OHS. The graduation rate is
only one of so many.
OBAMA: I'm so excited about the change this country is about
to embark upon. God has blessed President Elect Barack Obama
and answered so many prayers. I praise the Lord because God has
opened the minds of so many, making it possible for him to be elect-
ed. God is good.
TREES: If you haven't purchased a Christmas tree yet -- or if you
can always use another one -- stop by the Hospice Festival of Trees
and place a bid on one of the many lovely trees there. These trees
were all donated by individuals, clubs and businesses to raise money
for Hospice. The festival room is a Christmas wonderland. Just visit-
ing it will put you in the holiday mood.
GAS THEFT: Several people I know have had gasoline stolen
from their vehicles in the past two weeks. So be on the lookout. And
it might not be a bad idea to get a locking gas cap. Gas prices have
come down, but people are low on money and they are desperate.
It's bad enough to lose the money you spent on gas, but it's really a
problem if you think you have plenty of gas and suddenly find you are
nearly out of gas when there is not a gas station close by.
BORN IN THE U.S.A.: To the person that thinks President elect
Obama was not born in the U.S. If you did any type of research, you
would find that it has been verified that he was born in the United
States. They even found a birth announcement that was posted in the
newspaper back at the time of his birth. It is time to move on and to
support your new President. Stop with the nonsense.
ENGLISH: I do not think it is too much to ask for someone who
wants to be a citizen and have the privileges of citizenship to learn
the language. If you are just visiting, that is one thing. But if you plan
to live here and want to be a citizen, you need to speak the American
version of English. Any country you go to, if you want to live there
they expect you to learn the language. Otherwise, how can you be a
productive member of the society? My grandfather was an immigrant
and he made sure all of his children grew up speaking English in the
home. He wanted them to be Americans, and with no hyphen, just
Americans.
DONATIONS: I see these people with a can and a handmade sign
taking collections in the shopping centers. How can you tell if these
people are legit? I hate to turn them down, in case they really are try-
ing to help the poor, but how can you know what they are actually
going to use the money for?
REVISED LYRICS: Some of the artists of the 60s are revising their
hits with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby boomers. They in-
clude: Bobby Darin --- Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash; Herman's
Hermits --- Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker; Ringo Starr --- I
Get By With a Little Help From Depends: The Bee Gees -- How Can
You Mend a Broken Hip; Roberta Flack--- The First Time Ever I Forgot
Your Face: Johnny Nash --- I Can't See Clearly Now; Paul Simon--- Fif-
ty Ways to Lose Your Liver; The Commodores --- Once, Twice, Three
Times to the Bathroom; Procol Harem--- A Whiter Shade of Hair; Leo
Sayer -You Make Me Feel Like Napping; The Temptations -Papa's
Got a Kidney Stone; Abba Denture Queen; Tony Orlando -Knock
3 Times On The Ceiling If You Hear Me Fall; Helen Reddy I Am
Woman, Hear Me Snore.
SCAMS: In regard to the story in the paper about the phone calls
from these groups that claim to be helping local law enforcement,
I never give money to people who call on the phone. There are too
many scams. The money I give to charity goes to local charities. If you
are getting phone calls from people asking for money, sign up for the
'do not call' list. Then if they call you anyway, you can report them.
Editor's note: For more on the Do Not Call list online go to https://
www.donotcall.govu.
MISSING OKEECHOBEE: I have been gone for more than 10
years now but once in a while, I honestly do miss Okeechobee. I
knew many, many people there, doing the work I did. I moved away
for the big-city stuff up north -- divorce in Okeechobee left me with
few choices -- and after seven years of cold winters with snow up to
here and ice on top of that, I relented and came back to Florida, this
time to the coast. I love it here, but miss a little of the small-town
camaraderie. The economy has been very difficult for everyone and I
feel very bad for the people of Okeechobee who have been trying so
hard, like everyone else. My life in Okeechobee ended in July'98 but I
remember the spirit and I suppose that's what I miss most.
CLINTON: For Hillary Clinton to take the Secretary of State job,
she will have to resign from the Senate. So who will replace her?
Anyone think that her husband Bill will throw his name into consider-
ation? What would happen anyway? Do they have another election?
Editor's note: If a senator retires, the governor of that senator's state
appoints a replacement, who serves until an election is held. In the
case of Senator Clinton, such an election would be in November
2010. The same thing will happen to the Senate seats currently held
by President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Biden. The gov-
ernors of their states will appoint replacement interim senators, and
the positions will be on the November2010 ballot.
SHOP AT HOME: I would like to comment about the "shop at
home" article in Speak out I would love to if the stores would have
what you want. It never fails, when I want to do all my shopping in
one store, they are always out of something I need, only to settle for
something less than I wanted, or do without. I go to the east coast so
I can get everything I need and have a variety to pick from.
TOY DRIVES: From reading the paper, it looks like there are three
toy drives in Okeechobee to help the needy children. I can't give to all
three because like everyone else I am short on money, so now I have
to pick who to help. I would like to suggest that next year they all get
together and hold one big toy drive for the whole community.

Letters to the Editor

Cemetery theft
Today I went to the cemetery
to take some new flowers for my
husband's grave. As I got close,
I realized that the bench we had
put there a few weeks ago was
missing.
Me and the children had
picked out a concrete bench with
beautiful birds on each side. I had
set on it one time and just had a
few minutes to sit and think. If
you have ever lost someone after
fifty-one years of marriage, you
don't know the problems that
arise without an answer.
I know he cannot answer me,
but it helped to sit and think of an
answer.
Whoever had enough nerve
to take a bench from his grave I

think was pretty much a person
who would do anything. I would
have bought you a bench if you
had let me know you wanted
one, with my blessings.
This makes two palms and a
concrete bench that I have lost
from his grave.
He spent the last 20 years of
his life preaching in this town
and would have given you his last
cent if you needed it. He helped
everyone and I do not understand
people who take what they want
and cause grief for someone else.
I am saying a special prayer for
you tonight, my prayer for who
ever did this is that you will know
the Lord as we knew him and will
learn to live as a Christian and
learn to respect others and give
instead of taking. It will certainly

Guest Commentary

Ranch will help

preserve wildlife

By Rodney Barreto vival.
Chairman At the forefront of the FWC's
Florida Fish and Wildlife private-partnership efforts is the
Conservation Commission agency's Landowner Assistance
Wildlife need Program (LAP). LAP biologists
Wildlife nee il throughout the state enroll, fund
lands and caring and work with private landowners
landowners and other agencies and conserva-
tion groups to ensure wildlife gets
Most Floridians are aware of the things it needs -land that is
the state's purchase of the Bab- managed properly for the benefit
cock Ranch Preserve and know of wildlife and people.
something about its importance One such private cooperator is
for conserving wildlife. However, Buster Longino, whose ranch is
the 74,000-acre is more valuable in eastern Sarasota County. Long
to wildlife conservation than ino is a well-known, forward
many of us may realize. thinking agribusiness man and
A golden web of intercon- former Sarasota County Commis
nected public and private lands, oe. u
consisting of somewhere in the sioner. Of his 8,000 acres, fully
neighborhood of 200,000 acres, half are enrolled in conservation
stretches through the center of programs.
the state from Sarasota County At the direction of Longino,
east to Lake Okeechobee. Here, ranch manager Cliff Coddington
wildlife has a real opportunity to employs best management prac-
flourish, even in the face of signif- tices for wildlife that complement
icant human intervention in the the 4,000-acre cattle operation.
surrounding areas. Programs in which the ranch is
On the western end of this belt,
the Florida Fish and Wildlife Con- enrolled include wetlands mitiga-
servation Commission (FWC) and tion and restoration programs and
its partner agencies, the National a quail restoration program that
Resources Conservation Service uses prescribed fire to encourage
(NRCS), the Southwest Florida restoration of native plant species.
Water Management District and The ranch is also an approved re-
Sarasota County, have forged cipient site for relocated gopher
numerous conservation partner- tortoises. The forestry manage-
ships with private landowners. ment program, of which Longino
The partnerships have created a and Coddington take great pride,
web of wildlife habitat stretching i b o
well to the west of the Babcock is based on the natural regenera
Ranch Preserve into the heart of tion of native pine trees. In addi
the Myakka River Basin. tion, the ranch manager employs
This belt is the cornerstone for best practices for rangeland
conservation of wildlife species management, and drip irrigation
that live north and west of Flori- is used to conserve water in the
da's River of Grass. Importantly, modest orange grove.
areas of this size are essential to Because of careful planning,
the survival of wildlife popula- with conservation in mind, the
tions, because wildlife requires ranch remains a viable economic
large amounts of contiguous, ranch remains a viable economic
quality habitat if native species entity as well as a safe haven for
are to remain viable and healthy. wildlife populations of both game
Areas like this one also provide and nongame species. Turkeys,
resting spots and sustenance to quail, deer, gopher tortoises and
large numbers of migratory birds pine lilies, a rare plant species,
funneling through peninsular abound. Better yet, many of Long-
Florida as they travel down the no's neighbors have enrolled in
Atlantic flyway. Passerines in par- landowner assistance programs
ticular must maintain high num-
bers, because the long, arduous with the FWC and NRCS. Togeth-
migration takes a significant toll er, private and public land man
on their populations. Only large agers are mapping out the future
habitats can support the number for wildlife in this state, and that
of birds needed for species sur future looks very bright.

Okeechobee News

Our Purpose...
The Okeechobee News is published by Independent Newspapers of Florida.
Independent is owned by a unique trust that enables this newspaper to pur-
sue a mission of journalistic service to the citizens of the community Since no
dividends are paid, the company is able to thrive on profit margins below
industry standards. All after-tax surpluses are reinvested in Independent's
mission of journalistic service, commitment to the ideals of the First
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and support of the community's deliber-
ation of public issues.

We Pledge ... Advertising Director: Judy Kasten
To operate this newspaper as a
public trust News Editor: Katrina Elsken
To help our community become a
better place to live and work, National Advertising: Joy Parrish
through our dedication to consci-
entious journalism
To provide the information citizens Circulation Manager: Janet Madray
need to make their own intelligent
decisions about public issues. Independent Newspapers, Inc.
To report the news with honesty, Joe Smyth, Chairman
accuracy, purposeful neutrality, Ed Dulin, President
fairness, objectivity, fearlessness Tom Byrd, Vice President of
and compassion. Newspaper Operations
To use our opinion pages to facili- Katrina Elsken, Executive
tate community debate, not to Editor
dominate it with our own opinions.
To disclose our own conflicts of MEMBER
interest or potential conflicts to our OF: o/
readers.
To correct our errors and to give
each correction to the prominence
it deserves
To provide a right to reply to those Okeechobee News 2007
we write about.
To treat people with courtesy, For More Information See
respect and compassion. At Your Service On Page 2

give you more rewards than a sto-
len bench.
Beth Nicholas
Okeechobee

New County
Commissioner
It was a personal honor to
be able to swear in our three
newly elected county commis-
sioners last Thursday, especially
to administer the oath to Marga
ret Garrard-Helton, our newest
commissioner. Not only are Mrs.
Garrard-Helton, Clif Betts, and
Ray Domer old friends of mine,
but together with commission-
ers Noel Chandler and Marvin
Wherrell we are all graduates of
Okeechobee High School. Con-
gratulations to our newly elected

commissioners.
I read your article written by
Pete Gawda covering the swear
ing-in ceremony. Now what is
worse than being misquoted in
a newspaper? Being quoted ac
curately when you say something
wrong. Pete accurately reported
that I said Mrs. Garrard-Helton
was our third, female county
commissioner. I was incorrect.
She is our fourth female commis-
sioner.
Sarah Price, Susan Hughes
(now Baker), and Clois Harvey
have served us as county com-
missioners in the past. All three
served us well. Ladies, I regret my
misstatement.
Jerry Bryant
County Judge
Okeechobee

Community Calendar

Wednesday, Dec. 3
Just for Today Club of Okeechobee, 101 N.W Fifth Street,
Okeechobee, (Behind Napa Auto Parts) A.A. Grapevine Group, Open
Discussion meeting at 6:30 p.m.; N.A. Nowhere Left To Go Group 8
p.m. The Just for Today Club of Okeechobee is not affiliated with any
12 step fellowships.
Martha's House support groups meet each Wednesday. Spanish
groups meet from 7 until 8 p.m. at the Okeechobee Christian Church,
3055 S.E. 18th Terrace. Ana Romero is the group facilitator. Another
group meets in the Okeechobee County Health Department, 1798
N.W Ninth Ave., from 5 until 6 p.m. with Irene Luck as the group
facilitator. There is another meeting from 6 until 7 p.m. with Shirlean
Graham as the facilitator. For information, call 863-763-2893.
A.A. meeting from noon until 1 p.m. at the First United Methodist
Church 200 N.W Second St. It's an open meeting.
A.A. meeting from 8 until 9 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Catholic
Church, 701 S.W Sixth St. It will be a closed discussion.
Moose Lodge Bingo and food, food served at 5 p.m. and bingo
starts at 6 p.m. For information call 863-763-2250. Public is welcome.

Thursday, Dec. 4
Okeechobee Stitchin' meets every Thursday from 10 a.m. until 2
p.m. at the Okeechobee Presbyterian Church, 312 North Parrott Ave.
Bring your sewing project and join in on the fun. All types of sewing
is welcome, such as quilting, applique, embroidery, crocheting, knit
ting, serging. Bring your sewing machines if you like to sew. For more
information call Belinda Boyle at 863-357-0166 or Corry Geissinger at
863-467-2231.
Tantie Quilters meet every Thursday from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.
at the Historical Society Museum on U.S. 98 N. For information call
Margaret at 863-467-8020, or Marie at 863-357-0868.
Family History Center meets from I until 5 p.m. at the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 310 S.W Sixth St. Anyone interested in
finding who your ancestors are is welcome to attend. There is Census,
IGI (International Genealogical Index), Social Security Death Index
and military information available. For information, call The Family
History Center at 863-763-6510 or Richard Smith at 863-261-5706 for
special appointments.
New Beginning's meeting of Narcotics Anonymous will be
held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. at Believers Fellowship
Church, 300 S.W Fifth Ave. It will be an open discussion meeting. For
more information call Monika Allen at 863-801-3244.
Just for Today Club of Okeechobee, 101 N.W Fifth Street,
Okeechobee, (Behind NapaAuto Parts) NA. Sickest Of The Sick Group
- Basic Text meeting at 8 p.m. The Just for Today Club of Okeechobee
is not affiliated with any 12 step fellowships.
A.A. Closed big book meeting from 8 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Church
of Our Savior, 200 N.W Third St.
Prayer group meets at 10 a.m. at the Community Center, 412
N.W Sixth St. For information, call 863-763-5996.
Christian Fellowship Prayer group meets at 9:30 a.m. in the
fellowship hall at 412 N.W Sixth St. For information, call 863-763
5996.
Kiwanis Club of Okeechobee will meet from noon until 1 p.m.
at the American Legion Post 64 501 SE Second St. All Kiwanis and the
public are welcome. For information, contact Frank Irby at 863-357-
1639.
Take Off Pounds Sensibly No. 47 will meet from 5 until 6:30
p.m. at the United Methodist Church, 200 N.W Second St. Please join
us or ask questions. Call Phyllis at 863-467-8636 or Hazel at 863-763-
4920 for information.
Cowboys for Christ will meet at Dunklin Memorial, 407 N.W
Third Ave. Everyone is invited. For information, call Mike Fletcher at
863-357-6257.
Grieving parents support group is a nondenominational group
of parents who meet every Thursday from 7 until 8:30 p.m. at the Red
Cross building classroom, Court Plaza, 323 N. Parrott Ave. To help sup-
port and comfort one another after the loss of a child through shared
experience. For information call Georgene at 863-763-2957 or Melanie
and Tony at 863-763-4149.
Martha's House Inc. sponsors weekly support groups for women
who are, or have been, affected by domestic violence and abusive
relationships. The support groups are held every Thursday at 6 p.m.
For information call 863-763-2893, or call Shirlean Graham or Irene
Luck at 863-763-2893 or 863-763-0202.
Free Adult Basic Education/GED and English as a second
language classes will meet from 7 until 9 p.m. at Sacred Heart
Catholic Church, 701 S.W. Sixth St.
Okeechobee Outreach Hope Narcotics Anonymous will
meet from 8 until 9 p.m. at the Church of Our Saviour, 200 N.W Third
St. For information, call Hugh Lambert at 863-763-7185.
Okeechobee Citizens Recreation Association, OCRA will
meet at 7:30 p.m. at Teen Town, 305 N.W Second St. Anyone interested
may attend. For information, contact Frank Coker at 863-467-1941.
Ongoing Caregiver Support Group Hospice of Okeechobee
and the Area Agency on Aging sponsor a caregiver support group every
Thursday at 2 p.m. Anyone who is caring for an ill family member
is welcome to join. The group is facilitated by social workers and
provides an opportunity for caregivers to give one another support,
information and ideas. The meetings are held at Hospice at 411 S.E.
Fourth St. For information, call 863-467-2321.
AA. meeting will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at the First United
Methodist Church, 200 N.W Second St. This will be an open meeting.
Narcotic Anonymous (NA) meets at Believers Fellowship, 300
S.W 6th Ave. at 7 p.m. For information call Monika at 863-801-3244.
Classic car show at Beef O'Brady's, 608 S. Parrott Ave., from 6:30
until 8 p.m.
Okeechobee County Cancer Support Group welcomes
all cancer patients, survivors and supporters to attend, support and
encourage each other. We meet the first Thursday of each month at
5:30 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 401 SW Fourth St., Okeechobee,
(entrance is the door to the W in front of church). Please contact Susie
Pickering at 863-467-5831 or First Baptist Church at 863-763-2171 for
more information.

Friday, Dec. 5
Tops Take off Pounds Sensibly #669 meets at 9 a.m. at the
First United Methodist Church, 200 N.W Second St. The public is
invited. All persons interested in a sensible approach to losing weight
and becoming part of a caring group are welcome to come and see
what we are all about. For information, contact Ollie Morgret at 800
932-8677.
Highlands Social Dance Club welcomes the public to their
dance every Friday, from 7 until 10 p.m. at the Sebring Lions Club on
Sebring Parkway, one mile east of U.S. 27 in Sebring. Tickets are $5 for
members and $6 for guests. For information, call 863-471-0559.

Okeechobee News, Wednesday, December 3, 2008 5

Improvements planned for Turnpike toll plaza

By Charles M. Murphy
Okeechobee News
The Florida Turnpike Enter-
prise will present plans for a near
$25.5 million dollar improvement
project planned in the next five
years for the Fort Drum Service
Plaza when the Okeechobee
County Board of County Commis-
sioners meet Thursday.
The plan will include $2.8 mil-
lion for a planning and engineer-
ing study in 2010 and the actual
construction in 2012. The turn-
pike also plans for new guardrail
in Okeechobee County in 2014.
The price tag of that work is
$190,000.
The Florida Department of
Transportation will also present
their five year work plan to the
county commission. The plan

includes nearly $62 million for
the State Road 70 East project.
The state plans to widen to four
lanes the segment between N.E.
34th and NE 80th Avenue. Con-
struction is scheduled to begin in
2012/2013. The plan also includes
close to $6.4 million for right of
way purchases on State Road 70
from NE 80th Avenue to Berman
Road.
The state also intends to spend
over $2.8 million at the Okeecho-
bee County Airport in the next
five years for capital improve-
ments. The plan also includes a
$1.26 million repair project on the
Taylor Creek Bridge at U.S. 98 and
441, a new turn lane on U.S. 441
at S.E. 18th Terrace, and $3 mil-
lion for modifications to the main
intersection. The state also plans

to spend $900,000 for bike paths
and trails at the Okeechobee
Trailhead of the Lake Okeecho-
bee Scenic Trail.
The state also wants input
from the county on landscape
plans they have for a stretch of
State Road 70.
The commission agenda also
includes acceptance of an $18,000
grant from the Department of
Homeland Security Florida Grant
Program for the Emergency Man-
agement Department. The money
will be used for planning, training
and exercises.
The commission will also hold
a public hearing to discuss the
uniform method of collecting
non ad valorem assessments. The
public hearing is required if the
commission wants to consider

placing any special assessments
on the tax roll in 2009-2010. The
assessment could be used to fund
drainage and road improvements,
canal cleaning and maintenance,
storm water treatment and mos-
quito control, if the commission
so desires.
The commission will also hear
from Sean Moore of the Small
Business Development Center at
Florida Gulf Coast University to
discuss economic development
services they offer Okeechobee
County residents.
In other business actions the
commission is scheduled to con-
sider the acceptance of a bond
for a south bound turn lane that
enters the Silver Palms RV Village
development off U.S. 441. The
plan calls for 88 acres of develop-

Local churches plan special events

By Katrina Elsken
Okeechobee News
First United Methodist
Church of Okeechobee is plan-
ning special events this holiday
season. On Dec. 14, the Chancel
Choir Cantata, "Touched by a
Child Touched by a King," will
be presented at 8 and 11 a.m. Also
on Dec. 14, the Children's Musi-
cal: Silent Night-The Birth of a
Carol" will be presented at 5 p.m.
followed by a spaghetti dinner at
6 p.m. and the Youth Drama "The
Jingle Bell Mystery" at 7 p.m.
On Dec. 24, the church will
have Christmas Eve Candle Light
Services at 5 p.m. and a tradition-
al service at 7 p.m.
The Christian Team Trails
Fishing Tournament will be
held this Saturday, Dec. 6, at safe-
daylight at Okee-Tantie with the
weigh-in at 1 p.m. You may regis-
ter at the church office before the
tournament. The cost is $75 per
boat. Any questions, please call
Oakview Baptist Church at 863-
763-1699.
The Oakview Baptist
Church Children's Choir will

Places of

Worship

this Sunday, Dec. 7, at 6 p.m. The
Adult Celebration Choir will be
performing their Christmas Can-
tata, "Festival of Carols" on Sun-
day, Dec. 14, at 6 p.m.
On Sunday, Dec. 7, New Testa-
ment Baptist Church, 535 N.E.
28th Ave., will hold a "Round-Up"
Sunday with special guest speak-
er, Evangelist Wayne Nelson.
The day will begin with a puppet
presentation, special missionary
nresentation and the teaching of

God's word at 9:30 a.m. during
the Sunday School hour. It will
be followed by a special message
at 10:30 a.m. during the worship
hour. Also at 10:30 a.m. Mr. Nel-
son's wife Hattie, will give a spe-
cial presentation for the children's
church kids. There will be special
music, a children's program, ser-
mons in chemistry, wood and
metal objects and more. For more
information, please call 863-763-
6682. If you are interested in go-
ing, but do not have a ride, call
the church and they can set up
transportation for you. Also, there
is a nursery available every ser-
vice for the little ones.
Peace Lutheran Church,
750 N.W 23rd Lane, is planning
to take youth in the ninth grade
and above to Word of Life Su-
per 2008 in Orlando Dec. 5. This
will be a fast paced adrenaline-
pumping all nighter featuring
an Orlando Magic game, broom
hockey, ice skating, bowling and
lots of pizza.
The Okeechobee Christian
Academy Quilt Show will be
held Saturday, Dec. 6, from 9 a.m.
until 4 p.m. at Grace Brethren

quilters are wanted display their
quilts. Admission is $5. Proceeds
go to Okeechobee Christian
Academy.
The Okeechobee Church of
Christ will hold a clothing give-
away on Saturday, Dec. 6, begin-
ning at 8 a.m. It is an effort of the
church to be involved in helping
the community in a benevolent
way in these hard economic
times. The church is located at
1401 S. Parrott Ave. next to Sea-
coast Bank. For information call
863-763-4477.
The feast of Our Lady of
Guadalupe will be held on Fri-
day, Dec. 12, at Sacred Heart Cath-
olic Church, 901 S.W Okeecho-
bee. Outdoor procession will take
place in the parking lot before
the 8 p.m. mass. There will be
a special celebration beginning
at 9 p.m. on the grounds of the
church. We will have ethnic food
and everyone is welcome. Admis-
sion and parking is free. For more
information call 863-763-3727.
Email church news and photos for
this column to okeenews@newszap.
corn. Area churches can post events
online on the community calendar at

Riverside Bank, Okeechobee
Don't be a victim this holiday
season.
Up to 500,000 individuals are
victims each year of identity theft;
much of this type of fraud hap-
pens during the holiday season.
Fortunately, a few simple steps
can help ensure you stay out of
these statistics.
"Identity theft" or "account
takeover fraud" involves criminals
stealing a person's personal in-
formation. The crooks assume a
person's identity, apply for credit
in his or her name, run up huge
bills, stiff creditors and generally
wreck the victim's credit record.
Most banks take steps to look
out for their customers by putting
a combination of safeguards in

ye

p

r in elm-
ployee
training,
rigorous
secu-
rity stan-

dards, data encryption and fraud
detection. Some banks offer iden-
tity theft protection products that
monitor all three credit reports for
you daily and send you customiz-
able alerts of any key changes.
In addition to the banks' ef-
forts, you can take these steps to
avoid becoming a victim:
Don't give your Social Secu-
rity or account numbers to any-
one over the phone unless you
initiated the call.
Tear up or shred receipts,
old bank statements and unused
credit card offers before throwing

Submitted photo/Fran Dierig
Scramble Winners
Winners of the Thanksgiving Scramble on Nov. 22 at the
Okeechobee Golf and Country Club were Okeechobee La-
dies Golf Association members (left to right) Saba Curren,
Carol Seiser, Shirley Esterline, and Wanetta Johnson. The
scramble was followed by a Thanksgiving Feast and the
monthly meeting.

them away. Crooks could steal
information from your trash and
use it to get credit in your name.
Review your bank and credit
card statements as soon as you
receive them to check for unau-
thorized transactions.
Protect your PINs (personal
identification numbers) and com-
puter passwords; use a combina-
tion of letters and numbers and
change them often. Never carry
this information with you!
Order copies of your credit
report once a year to ensure ac-
curacy. Logon to: AnnualCred-
itReport.com, the only online site
supported by the three national
credit reporting agencies. Or call
any of the agencies: Trans Union
800-680-7289, Experian 888-397-
3742 and Equifax 800-525-6285.
Report any suspected fraud
to your bank and credit card issu-
ers immediately so they can start
to close accounts and clear your
name right away. You may also
contact the Federal Trade Com-
mission's (FTC) ID Theft Con-
sumer Response Center toll-free
at (877) IDTHEFT.
By law you are only liable
for the first $50 of unauthorized
charges against a credit card ac-
count. Still, restoring your identity
can be a tremendous inconve-
nience. It's worth your while to
exercise a little preventive main-
tenance. Protect yourself against
this terrible crime.
This article was submitted by
Tabitha Trent, Vice President and
Office Manager at Riverside Bank
in Okeechobee. Tabitha can be
reached at: 863-824-0400 x61713.
Editor's note: This column
is open to submitted articles
from local financial institu-
tions. If you have a topic for
an article to share your "Fi-
nancial Cents," please sub-

Christmas boat
parade planned
The Okeechobee Yatchette
Club and Butches Redneck Yatch
Club will hold their annual Christ-
mas boat parade on Dec. 14, at
6 p.m. The public is welcome.
Decorate your boats and meet on
Taylor Creek at Hwy 70 by Burger
King between 5 and 5:30 p.m. The
parade begins at 6 p.m. and goes
down Taylor Creek to the rim ca-
nal and left to the VFW or Butch's
Fish Camp. There will be a $25
prize for the best decorated boat.
For information call Jeff Jones at
863-634-2321 or Arnie Whepley at
863-634-4777.

Christmas Around
the World
The annual celebration of
Christmas Around the World will
be celebrated on Sunday, Dec. 21,
at Sacred Heart Catholic Church
grounds from 5 until 7 p.m. There
will be a live nativity pageant,
booths and Santa Claus gifts for
children and performances by
the following groups: Scottish
Bagpipers, Irish Step Dancers,
Filipino performers, and Mexican
Serenade. Admission and parking
is free. For more information call
863-763-3727.

City Hall Park
to hosts Santa
Santa will be at City Hall on
Dec. 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 15, and 16
from 6 to 8 p.m. Stop by for a pic-
ture with Santa!

Historical holiday
ornaments on sale
The Okeechobee Retired
Educators will be selling their
third limited edition ornament
for Christmas 2008. Ornaments
are 24k gold on brass, includes a
numbered certificate with histori-
cal information. Ornaments are
$15. Proceeds fund their scholar-
ship. The 2008 ornament is the
Old County Courthouse.
They will also have 2007 and
2006 ornaments available in a
limited quantity for those who
wish to get those. To purchase
an ornament call Gay Carlton
at 863-763-5755, Kay McCool at
863-763-2829, Paulette Whipple
at 863-467-2487, Marion Davis at
863-763-3991 or Regina Hamrick
at 863-763-8865.

Big Lake Missions
holds Annual toy drive
Big Lake Missions Outreach is
sponsoring their 14th annual toy
drive for the Needy Children in
OUR community. Families will be
screened for needs and gifts are
to be put under the tree for Christ-
mas day. They are in need of new
gifts, ages baby to teen.
Donations can be toys, gifts
suitable for teens, gift cards or
checks are welcome made out
to the Mission to purchase what
is needed. Also, foods is always
needed. For more information,
call 863-763-5725 or 863-697-
6433. Pick-up and receipts are
available upon request.

Annual Tour of
Homes planned
The Annual Holiday Tour of
Homes, sponsored by Raulerson
Hospital, will take place on Dec.
5 and 6 from 6 until 9 p.m. A bus
tour is available on Friday evening
Dec. 5. Tickets are now on sale at
the hospital and Suzie's Hallmark
Gift Shop in the Publix Plaza. The
self tour tickets are only $15 and
the bus tickets for those who
would like to "LEAVE THE DRIV-
ING TO US," are only $25. The
event benefits the United Way of
Okeechobee. For more informa-
tion, please call Bill Casian at 863-
824-2702

VFW holds annual
Christmas Bazaar
The VFW Post 10539 Ladies
Auxiliary will hold their annual
Christmas Bazaar on Saturday,
Dec. 6 from 8 a.m. until ? Sausage
gravy and biscuits will be served
from 8 until 10 a.m. Tables are
available for $10. For more infor-
mation call Shirley Jarrell at 863-
467-9450.

Holiday Cookie Sale
planned
The Okeechobee Presbyterian
Church will have their annual
Christmas Cookie Sale on Sat-
urday, Dec. 13, from 8 a.m. until
1 p.m. in the Church Fellowship
Hall. The church is located at 312
N. Parrot Avenue.

Hospice hosts annual
Festival of Trees
Hospice of Okeechobee are
set to host this year's Annual
Festival of Trees. The event will
open on Friday, Nov. 28 and run
through Sunday, Dec. 7. You may
view this Christmas wonderland
weekdays from 9 a.m. until 4
p.m. The event is free to attend.
For more information, call Cathy
at 863-467-2321.

Christmas Country
Store set to open
The Christmas Country Store
will open on Friday, Nov. 28, at 9
a.m. at Hospice of Okeechobee's
Blue Volunteer Building. Toys,
decorations and unique items for
Christmas will be for sale. Come
see and enjoy the holiday splen-
dor. For more information, please
call Cathy at 863-467-2321.

Christmas trees are

Moose Lodge selling
Koeze Nuts
The Okeechobee Loyal Order
of Moose, Legionnaires are again
holding their annual Koeze Nut
Fund Raiser for Food Baskets for
the less fortunate. Order forms
and catalogs may be picked up
at The Stitchin' Post, 620 S. Par-
rott Ave. See Paul at the Lodge,
159 NW 36th Street, or call 863-
763-4954. You can also call Paul
Diamond P.G. Fund Chairman,
863-467-1484 to order.

Third Annual craft
bazaar and luncheon
planned in BHR
The Third Annual craft bazaar
and luncheon at Buckhead Ridge
Christian Church, 1167 Linda
Road (BHR) will be held on Sat-
urday, Dec. 6, from 8 a.m. until
2 p.m. For more information call
the Church at 863-357-6500.

headed to Shrine Club Christmas parade

The Okeechobee Shrine Club
will have Live Christmas Trees,
snow-fresh from Michigan. Doug-
las Fir and Scotch Pine will be
available beginning Friday, Nov.
28, (day after Thanksgiving) in
Flagler Park. 5-8 ft. trees will be
available. All proceeds will benefit
the Okeechobee Shrine Club and
Amara Shrine Temple. For more
information call the Okeechobee
Shrine Club at 863-763-3378; Kip
Gardner at 863-610-6659; or Da-
vid Pittard at 863-801-1678. Come
early for the best selections.

planned Dec. 13
Chamber of Commerce Light-
ed Christmas Parade will be Dec.
13, with line up at 5:30 p.m. A
craft show will be in Flagler Parks
2 and 3. For more information,
contact the Chamber at 763-
6464.

Santa on fire truck
The City Firefighters will host
Santa on the firetruck visits on:
Dec. 18 in the N.W & N.E. sec-
tions of the city; Dec. 19 in the SE
section of the city; and Dec, 20 in
the SW section of the city.

Christmas gift drive
My Aunt's House anticipates
an overwhelming number of re-
quests this year for assistance,
please help if you can. Suggested
items: puzzles, books, balls, board
games, watches, dolls, cars, and
socks. Items can be brought to the
Okeechobee County School Board
office. The Community Collabora-
tive Council collects items for the
gift drive which My Aunt's House
distributes to local families. For
more information contact Sharon
Vinson 863-462-5000 ext 257.

VFW hosts BHR Toys
for Tots Bike Run
Bikes will leave the VFW Post
4423, 34th Street off 441 N., at
12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7
and will arrive at the VFW 9528 in
Buckhead Ridge by 1 p.m. Entry
fee is one new unopened toy. This
event will benefit Toy's For Tots. A
hog roast with swamp cabbage
will be held at 2 p.m., there will
be music and a good time for a $5
donation. For more information
call 863-467-2882.

We want your
holiday news
Is your club, organization or
church planning a holiday event
or fundraiser? Email your news to
okeenews@newszap.com for this
list of community holiday events.

Community Events

Humane Society
to meet
The Humane Society Pet Res-
cue will have a volunteer sign-
up and fundraiser meeting on
Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 6:30
to 7 p.m. in the meeting room of
The Clock restaurant. For more
information, email Reunitepets@
aol.com.

Manufactured housing
installation course
On Dec. 4, from 8 a.m. until
noon a Course for Manufactured
Housing Installation will be held
at the Okeechobee County Civic
Center. The event will be spon-
sored by the Okeechobee County
Building Department. There is no
charge for this course. John 0.
Priester, Jr. is the instructor from
the Department of Highway Safe-
ty and Motor Vehicles. To R.S.VP.
or for more information call Faye
Huffman at 863-763-5548 ext.
3001.

OCA holds annual
spaghetti dinner
Okeechobee Christian Acad-
emy will hold its 13th Annual
Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser on
Friday, Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. till 2
p.m. (drive thru only) and Satur-
day, Dec. 6 from 11 a.m. until 7
p.m. (eat in, drive thru, bake sale)
Dinner includes spaghetti, green
beans and roll, (tea or coffee dine
in only) for a $5 donation. A silent
auction will be held on Saturday
from 3 until 6 p.m. and their first
Chapel Quilt Show will be held
from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. For infor-
mation call 863-763-3072.

OHS Goes
International
The Okeechobee High Schools
students who will be traveling to
Rome with OHS in 2009 invite ev-
eryone to help by coming to their
bake sale and multi-family yard
sale on Saturday, Dec. 6, starting
at 7:30 a.m. in the parking lot at
Tractor Supply, 3371 US Highway
441 S.
Items for sale will include:
Baked Goods
Clothes
l Household items
Electronics
And much more!

Annual craft bazaar
and luncheon planned
The Third Annual craft bazaar
and luncheon at Buckhead Ridge
Christian Church, 1167 Linda
Road (BHR) will be held on Sat-
urday, Dec. 6 from 8 a.m. until
2 p.m. For more information call
the Church at 863-357-6500.

BHR Fire Dept. to host
Pancake breakfast
The Buckhead Ridge Fire De-
partment will be hosting a pan-
cake breakfast. All you can eat
pancakes on Dec. 6, from 8 un-
til 11 a.m. for a $4 donation. For
information call 863-532-9015 or
863-467-8220.

Bowl for a cure
You can help the concerned
citizens of Okeechobee by bowl-
ing for a cure for cancer at Bowl-
A-Thon on Saturday, Dec. 6, at
Stardust Lanes from 7 until 10
p.m. Entry fee is $15 per person
or $60 per team (4-persons), in-
cludes shoes and three games
of bowling. Lane sponsorships
are available for $100. For more
information contact Frank Riddle
at 863-447-1174. All proceeds will
benefit the American Cancer So-
ciety.

Okeechobee County
4-H Annual Yard Sale
The Okeechobee County
Council will be holding their an-
nual yard sale on Dec. 6, from
8 a.m. until noon. The sale will
take place in the parking lot of the
Mims Veterinary Hospital at 275
SW 32nd St. All proceeds go to
help support 4-H programs. For
information call the Extension Of-
fice at 863-763-6469.

Goods Spirits holds
benefit
Good spirits Lounge, 245 Hwy
441 S.E. will hold a benefit on Sat-
urday, Dec. 6, from 1 until 6 p.m.
Their will be a 50/50 drawing, a
$5 shotgun raffle, $20 raffle for a
86 Honda Goldwing, Food $5 do-
nation, and live music from local
bands; including Gator, Wayne
and Tammy, Timmy Bast Band
and others. Donations and Pub-
lic welcome! Local musician,
Wayne Purvis and family, (wife,
and two kids ages 8 & 15 recently
lost everything they had in two
house fires, (house located be-
hind Golden Corral, next to Okee
School Board). They had no in-
surance to help cover their losses.
For more information please call
Steve Levitz at 863-697-2516 or
Dakota at 856-297-7405.

EO.E. holds yard sale
The Fraternal Order of Eagles
Cypress Hut 4509 on Friday,
Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. and Saturday,
Dec. 6 at 8 a.m. at the Old Cy-
press Hut Flea market. For more
information call 863-467-1154.

American Legion Post
64 holds bingo night
The American Legion Post 64,
will hold a "Straight Bingo Night,"
on Sunday, Dec. at 6:30 p.m.
There will be 20 games straight,
five specials, larger jack pots,
bring singles, pull tabs. Food and
snacks will be available. For infor-
mation call the Legion at 863-763-
5309.

Nutritional class planned
Dr. Edward Douglas will teach
a CRA Nutritional Analysis class
on Monday, Dec. 8 at 5:30 p.m.
at the Douglas Chiropractic and
Fitness Center. For more informa-
tion call 863-763-4320. This is a
free community service.

A

Red Cross plans Health
and Safety classes
The Okeechobee Branch of
the American Red Cross will be
holding the following the follow-
ing Health & Safety classes in
December: Monday, Dec. 8, In-
fant/Child CPR at 6 p.m. Wednes-
day, Dec. 10, Adult CPR/AED at 6
p.m. Monday, Dec. 15, First Aid
Basics at 6 p.m. All classes are
held at their Branch office located
at 323 N. Parrott Ave. To register,
or for more information call 863-
763-2488.

ate

AARP Driver Safety
Class offered
Tuesday, Dec. 9 and Wednes-
day, Dec. 10, Nell Bostwick will
instructing an AARP Driver Safety
Class at the Okeechobee County
Extension Office, 458 Hwy 98 W,
from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. each day.
Tuition fee is $10 per person to
cover work books. There are no
tests, but you must attend both
days to obtain your certificate.
Contact your insurance company
to see if you qualify for a discount.
Please bring a check or money or-
der for $10, please no cash. You
do not have to be a member of
AARP to attend these classes. Call
Nell Bostwick at 863-763-4134.

manners?

A legitimate role for the press is that of "the public's watchdog." Most
citizens can't spend the time necessary to personally observe their
public officials at work, or to determine how well public institutions
are carrying out their public mission.

But too many newspapers these days act more like "mad dogs" than
"watchdogs."

We're proud to be different. We try to carry out our "watchdog" role
as humble representatives of the public, always maintaining a courte-
ous tone and our reputation for purposeful neutrality.

How are we doing?

Let us know by mailing feedback@newszap.com or calling your edi-
tor.

with at

Online Guestbook
All Obituaries now include Online Guestbooks
where family and friends can share reflections,
.dfl*.. ,% ,," n ..mA Asn

KEECHOBEE NEWS

Community Service Through Journalism

Okeechobee News, Wednesday, December 3, 2008 7

Okeechobee DAR Chapter meets

The National Society Daugh-
ters Of The American Revolution,
Okeechobee Chapter, held their
annual Fall Luncheon on Nov. 1,
2008. The luncheon was hosted
and held at the home of member
Debbie Clemons and co-hostess
MiMi Arnold, prospective mem-
ber assisted. State Regent, Sue
Bratton served as special guest
speaker. Sue shared with us the
deep roots of public service that
the DAR holds at its foundation.
She displayed photos and his-
tories of each of our founding
members while sharing personal
stories about each. We learned
about the history of the organiza-
tion and Mrs. Bratton's state proj-
ect of supporting the Haley House
for families of wounded veterans.
The James A Haley Veterans'
Hospital in Tampa, FL cares for
many of the wounded solders
returning from combat in the
Middle East. There was a need
and concern for housing of the
families that came to the hospital

to visit their returning vet. The Ha-
ley House was established to care
for these families. The hotel type
facility is free to family members
during their visit. DAR members
supply shelved food, baby items
and other necessities that help
make the families stay more com-
fortable. We also provide mon-
etary support to help keep the fa-
cility operating. One of the Florida
DAR chapter goals this year was
to provided Thanksgiving Din-
ners for all the families that were
visiting there this past weekend.
There were nine prospective DAR
members and three prospective
Children of the American Revo-
lution (CAR) members present
at the luncheon. The prospective
CAR members served as host-
esses to the members during the
luncheon. A fall theme served as
the background for the luncheon.
Monogrammed tea towels were
given to each guests as a thank
you for their continued support of
our chapter.

Submitted photo
The National Society Daughters Of The American Revolu-
tion, Okeechobee Chapter, held their annual Fall Luncheon
on Nov. 1.

The Okeechobee Chapter DAR
meets the first Saturday of each
month, October thru May, from
10-11 a.m, at the Okeechobee
County Library. They will help
prospective members document
and search for patriot ancestors.
Anyone interested in joining is
invited to the Christmas party

this Saturday, Dec. 6. They will
be showing a short video and
collecting money to support the
"Wounded Warrior Project" that
provides backpacks filled with
essential personal items given to
wounded solders that return to
the veterans hospitals in the U.S.
following service abroad.

Sweet potato casserole is holiday treat

Frances Smith is a retired
home economics teacher. In her
day to day life she not only had to
use her culinary skills but also her
writing skills to write her lesson
plans so that all of her students
would not only understand her
cooking methods but how and
why things were happening, for
example exposure to heat, cool-
ing, and chemical reactions. She
taught her students about menus,
grocery lists, costs, and even bud-
geting.
She explained to me that she
thought I would make a good
journalist because I love to ques-
tion everything. Even when I was
younger I loved to ask questions.
She said she loved when I asked
questions because a lot of times

they really made her think before
she could answer.
Fran loves to share her knowl-
edge and understands that not ev-
eryone gets what she is trying to
explain on the first try, that some-
times you must reword what you
are trying to convey.
Fran shared this recipe be-
cause she has made it with holi-
day dinners, to bring to cover dish
events and even to give leftovers

1 cup chopped pecans
Mix all the filling ingredients
until well blended. Pour into but-
tered dish. Topping: melt marga-
rine and stir in brown sugar, add
flour and then the nuts. Blend
until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle
topping on top of filling. Bake at
350 degrees for 30 minutes. Serve
immediately. This is a great recipe
and can be served with turkey or
ham.
The recipe makes 10 servings
with approximately 561 calories
per serving.
If you would like to share your
opinion, and your favorite recipe
please contact me at kitchen
talk@yahoo.com.

0* 0- 0-

A III* .

TOP DOLLAR PAID FOR SCRAP
AND OLD GOLD FOR CASH!
Turn in your old chains, rings, earrings, broken or
not, and any jewelry you don't want to wear or
are just laying in the jewelry box...for cash.

As the holiday season begins,
children and adults alike have
more than just the vision of sugar
plums dancing in their heads.
From pumpkin pie to candied
yams, many people use the holi-
day season as a guilt free excuse
to abandon healthy eating habits.
However, for the more than 23
million children and adults in the
United States with diabetes, the
holiday season's sweet treats can
be a luxury they can't afford.
For this reason, Medicine
Shoppe pharmacies and the
American Diabetes Association
(ADA) are recognizing American

Diabetes Month and offering free
"Live Healthy Nutrition Recipe
Cards," with healthy recipes for
people with diabetes. Participat-
ing Medicine Shoppe pharma-
cies across the country will be
providing these recipe cards free
throughout the holiday season
while supplies last.
The "Live Healthy Nutritional
Recipe Cards," which are made
possible in part by Bayer Health-
Care, offer 10 ADA-approved reci-
pes for the holidays and through-
out the year, including chicken
drumsticks; stuffed french toast;
turkey tetrazzini; herbed russet

potatoes; buttermilk biscuits; 15-
minute chicken, rice and broccoli
dinner; crunch trail mix; sausage
and potato soup; apple-glazed
baby carrots and chocolate chip
cookies. Each recipe includes nu-
tritional information, as well as
the serving sizes for each of the
Diabetes Food Pyramid catego-
ries.
"The 'Live Healthy Nutritional
Recipe Cards' are an excellent re-
source for people with diabetes
or those simply looking to make
healhty nutritional choices," said
Chrissy Ellegood, director of
diabetes care, Medicine Shoppe

Okeechobee County Health Department Report

By Frank Kruppa
OCHD Adminsitrator
In the future, the Okeechobee
County Health Department will
be sharing information related to
public health in this space. It is
our goal to share the many issues
facing our community and some
of the measures. -
being taken to-.
address them. ,'
Your Health de-
partment staff
includes nurses, '
doctors, nutri-
tionists, sanitar-
ians and many .1
other profes-
sionals with a Frank Kruppa
wide range of
expertise work-
ing everyday to promote and pro-
tect the health of our community.
For example, the Women,
Infants and Children program
distributes 1.5 million dollars in
vouchers annually that are used in
our local economy. Those vouch-
ers are used by new mothers to
ensure good nutrition for them
and their babies during pregnancy
and for their children after birth.
The Healthy Start program works
with pregnant women to help
them through pregnancy and the
first three years of their newchild's
life. Some of these same women
are seen by obstetricians here at
the Health Department clinic. As
evidenced here part of the Health
Department's core mission is to
provide children with a healthy

beginning to life.
The Health Department also
partners with the School Board
to provide school health services.
Nurses provide care and comfort
to all the students in Okeechobee
County schools, coordinators are
administering the Students Work-
ing Against Tobacco program to
middle and high school students
and nurses are participating in
the School Health Advisory com-
mittee.
Health Department doctors
and nurses provide care to cli-
ents ranging from family planning
to general primary care issues
and are checked for eligibility
based on income. Fees are then
assessed on a sliding scale. The
Health Department is also a Med-
icaid provider of clinical services.
A few core public health services
such as treatment for sexually
transmitted diseases are provided
at no charge.
The most common service
associated with the Health De-
partment is performed in Envi-
ronmental Health. Onsite Sewage
Treatment and Disposal Systems
or, as many know them, septic
systems are permitted. Environ-
mental Health staff also performs
sanitation inspections for many
types of facilities including school
kitchens, mobile home parks and
group care facilities.
There are many other services
provided at the Health Depart-
ment that will be shared in the
future along with information on
how we can make Okeechobee

County healthy. Any questions
can be directed to the Okeecho-
bee County Health Department at
863-462-5819.
Frank Kruppa is the Adminis-
trator of the Okeechobee County
Health Department and can be
reached at 863-462-5793.

CHOOSE

International, Inc., franchisor
of Medicine Shoppe pharmacy
stores. "For those with diabetes,
maintaining a healthy diet and
following a proper meal plan will
result in manageable blood sugar
levels. The Diabetes Food Pyra-
mid is a great tool to help people
with diabetes manage their diet
and nutrition."
The Diabetes Food Pyramid
differs from the USDA Food Guide
Pyramid by grouping foods ac-

cording to carbohydrates and
protein content, instead of by
food category, to help keep blood
sugar levels under control. In
addition, the portion sizes are
modified from the traditional
food pyramid in order to have a
similar amount of carbohydrates
within each serving. For example,
potatoes and other starchy veg-
etables are included within the
grains group instead of within the
vegetables group, and cheese is

included within the meat group
instead of the milk group.
For more information on nu-
trition for people with diabetes,
talk with your pharmacist or phy-
sicians on an appropriate meal
plan, or to find a Medicine Shoppe
store near you, please visit www.
medicineshoppe.com. For more
information on the Diabetes Food
Pyramid, visit the ADA's Webs site
at www.diabetes.org.

Raulerson adds 'Company Care'

Raulerson Hospital announces
the opening of the new "Rauler-
son Company Care" Occupation-
al Health Services program on
Dec. 1. The Raulerson Company
Care facility is located in the "Blue
Top" medical building located
just north of the hospital at 1930
Highway 441 North.
Raulerson Company Care is
a comprehensive health services

LOVE

program for businesses and mu-
nicipalities in our community for
maintaining a strong and healthy
work force. Raulerson Company
Care provides fast, efficient qual-
ity care that allows employees to
return to work as soon as pos-
sible.
Company Care is a recognized
leader in Industrial Medicine and
Occupational Health providing

BIG LAKE HOSPICE has been a wonderful
choice for my mother and us Mother is
able to continue living at home with the
care she needs They have done more
than care for her, they have shown love
and compassion forourwhole family
Big Lake Hospice is not just about dying-
it is more about living and coping with a
terminal illness of someone you love.
-JuDeane Garrert
Daughter of Mary Helen

There was a lot going on at
South Elementary during the
short Thanksgiving week. Stu-
dents were busy preparing for all

sorts of Thanksgiving activities as

Each grade level set up math

well as participating in the Math activities in each classroom so
Bowl, sponsored by the School the students could rotate be-
Improvement Math Committee. tween the rooms. It was a lot

Submitted photo
Thanksgiving feast at North Elementary
On Tuesday, Nov. 25, at North Elementary school, Ms. Stanley's first grade class and Mr.
Stanley's fourth grade class held a Thanksgiving lunch. Ms. Stanley's class came as the
pilgrims, and Mr. Stanley's class came as the Native Americans. They discussed the his-
tory of the holiday, and performed a miniature play about the history of Thanksgiving. The
classes then enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal.

of fun to go into different class-
rooms and do all the great activi-
ties. Mrs. Ward's class joined the
second grade team for the math
bowl activities and later watched
a Thanksgiving video to complete
their Thanksgiving unit.
Fourth grade students rotated
between teachers as they com-
pleted activities dealing with
fractions, number sense, geom-
etry, mean, median, and mode.
The students enjoyed moving
from class to class and getting
to know different teachers and
their teaching styles. In writing,
the students were excited about
the narrative prompts. This week,
they responded to a Thanksgiving
prompt on how to rescue a tur-
key.
Everyone at South Elementary
is getting ready for the upcoming
winter activities. Mrs. Richard-
ean Singleton and Mrs. Tammy
Thomas, co-chairs of the Spirit
committee, are starting to work
on the float for the Christmas pa-
rade. They are really going all out
this year and the float promises to
be a work of art! Volunteers are
always appreciated to help tie ev-
erything down!
Tickets are on sale now for

the Winter Carnival. They are at
a reduced price in bundles of 50
for $20 and 25 for $10. Items are
coming in for the Silent Auction
and it looks like we are going to
have some very interesting items
for the adults to bid on through-
out the evening. We have two
rides this year in addition to the
many booths we have had in the
past. There will be a hayride and
a train ride. We are still accept-
ing donations of food items or
for the Silent Auction. If you are
interested in donating items or
time, please call Mrs. Paulson at
863-462-5087.
Students receive PBS brace-
lets for always exhibiting positive
behavior. The students in sec-
ond through fourth grades who
received bracelets for this sec-
ond nine-week period included:
Amber Marquette, Ayan Desai,
Campbell Platt, Daniel Parker,
Danielle Geary, Dylan Smith,
Elana Rodriguez, Emily Beaty,
Faith Pritchett, Haley Land, Jan-
ixza Lopez, Jesus Denova, Kayln
Hickman, Keegan Sarros, Mari-
sabel Gomez, Meghan Kushel,
Rick Willet, Robert Wright, Sa-
bria Smith, Sarah Heaton, Shah-
mir Ali, Stormy Requena, Alexis

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2. Ease of Treatment
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Expert radiation doctors with the most experience are always available to
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(863) 467-9500 (772) 293-0377

By Diane Timmons
Okeechobee News
Let's look at more computer
definitions today. Included are bits
and pieces of information that are
too small for a full column.
Email: Short for electronic
mail. Email is the number one
reason retirees buy a computer.
Email is away to correspond with
friends and relatives who also
have an email account and an
Internet connection. Email can
be composed of both text and
files. You can communicate lo-
cally, within the United States or
throughout the world, all without
paying for stamps or a telephone
bill. Electronic messages are sent
from one person to another over
the Internet or another network.
Before public use of the Inter-
net, large companies used inter-
nal networks for email. AOL and
Prodigy were early email provid-
ers where the individual user paid
a monthly fee for the service. Now
people usually get email from the
provider of their Internet service
or ISP (internet service provider).
If you have Internet access and
would like a free email address,
Yahoo, Google and others offer
email addresses free of charge.
Most ISPs today, have a browser-

based email interface. This means
you can access your email any
place you can get an Internet con-
nection via the browser.
Email address: Or, anatomy
of an e-mail address. Ask many
new users what their email ad-
dress is, and you're likely to get
a few blank stares. It's a good
item to memorize, because once
your friends and family know that
you're on the Internet, they're go-
ing to ask you what your address
is. Email addresses are structured
in two parts with the "at" symbol
(@) in between. They typically
look something like this: user-
name@company.com. The first
part before the @ identifies the
person on a particular e-mail
provider. It could be their first
name, first initial and last name,
first name-dot-last name or some-
thing completely unrelated. The
second part, after the @ identi-
fies the e-mail provider, and that
will be determined by your ISP or
online service. It could be google.
com, embarqmail.com, yahoo.
com or any number of other pro-
viders. They'll all be "something-
dot-something."
A couple of other e-mail ad-
dress conventions: If someone
uses the phrase "underscore"
while telling you their e-mail ad-

Seniors
Share your questions
for this column by e-mail to
dtimmons@newszap.com
dress, they're referring to the "_"
key, which is SHIFT-hyphen. If
they say "dot," they mean the pe-
riod key. There can be no spaces
in an e-mail address.
FAQ: An FAQ is a set of Fre-
quently Asked Questions and
answers on a given topic. Some-
times people will refer to an in-
dividual question as an FAQ but
more precisely it means a collec-
tion of questions and answers,
posted periodically to high-vol-
ume web sites in an attempt to

forestall questions that have been
asked time and again. There are
many FAQ files available for al-
most every subject that you might
find on the Internet. Going to the
site's FAQ files is the best place to
start to find answers to your ques-
tions.
File: Information that has
been named and is being stored,
usually in a folder.
Folder: A location in which
you can store files and other fold-
ers.
Flash: Macromedia Flash is
another technology that allows
animations, interactive forms,
games and other jazzed-up fea-
tures to be embedded in web
pages. In order for you to view or
interact with the full content of a
web page created using this soft-
ware, you need the Flash Player
installed on your computer. You
computer will alert you that you
need Flash Player to see the web
content. Macromedia Flash Player
is a well-known and trustworthy
plug-in that users should feel
comfortable installing. In fact,
Flash is the most commonly in-
stalled plug-in on the web. The
Flash plug-in can be found on
Macromedia's website at www.
Macromedia.com.
FTP (file transfer proto-

col): FTP is a fast way of upload-
ing or downloading files on the
Internet. Web browsers can per-
form basic FTP downloads, but
dedicated FTP programs do it bet-
ter. For example, after developing
the HTML pages for a Web site on
a local machine, they are typically
uploaded to the Web server using
FTP. FTP includes functions to log

in to the network, list directories
and copy files. Common FTP pro-
grams include: CuteFTP, WS_FTP
and SmartFTP. All have free evalu-
ation downloads available. Happy
computing.
Emailyour comments or questions
to dtimmons@newszap.com.

-- -*-
Okeechobee News/Eric Kopp
Shriners tree sale
Okeechobee Shrine Club members (left to right) Wayne McGe-
hee, Jim Lager and Hal Henderson were busy Friday, Nov. 28,
getting Christmas trees ready for sale. The Shrine Club is sell-
ing the trees as a fundralser and will be selling until Dec. 23,
or until all the trees are sold. They are located in Flagler Park,
across the street from the Country Cooler Drive-Thru.

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to attend a seminar or speak with one of our
knowledgeable representatives.
TTY/TDD: 1-866-455-6010
8:30AM to 5:OOPM, Monday Friday

12 Okeechobee News, Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Create Ywr Own Ads Onlinel

[EJ Three weeks FRIE.

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click on classified

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Submit Your Free Classified Ad Today

at WWW.NEWSZARCOM Click on Classifieds
Published 3 weeks' in all of our Flonda papers: Caloosa Belle, Clewiston News, Glades County Democrat,
Immokalee Bulletin, Okeechobee News, and The Sun
SAds will run in the Wednesday Okeechobee News and weekly publications.

* All personal items under $5,000
ABSOLUTELY FREE!
* Price must be included in ad
* Private parties only
* 2 items per household per issue

AlNnoiuncemeNls

Important Information' Please
read your ad carefully the first
day it appears. In case of an
inadvertent error please noti-
fy us prior to the deadline list-
ed. We will not be responsible
for more than 1 incorrect
insertion, or for more than the
extent of the ad rendered val-
ueless by such errors
Advertiser assumes responsi-
bility for all statements, names
and content of an ad, and
assumes responsibility for any
claims against Independent
Newspapers. All advertising
is subject to publisher's
approval The publisher
reserves the right to accept or
reflect any or all copy, and to
insert above the copy the word
"advertisement" All ads
accepted are subject to credit
approval. All ads must conform
to Independent Newspapers'
style and are restricted to
their proper classifications.
Some classified categories
require advance payment
These c assifications are
denoted with an asterisk
Independent Newspapers will
never knowingly accept any
advertisement that is iegal or
considered fraudulent. Fn all
cases of questionable value,
such as promises of guaran-
teed income from work-at-
home programs or other offers
to send money in advance for
a product or service -we
advise you to check with the
Attorney General's Consumer
Fraud Line at 1 800 220 5424,
and/or The Better Business
Bureau, 800-464-6331 for pre-
vious complaints.
Auctions 105
Car Pool 110
Share a ride 115
Card of Thanks 120
In Memoriam 125
Found 130
Lost 135
Give Away 140
Garage/Yard Sale 145
Personals 150
Special Notices 155
900 Numbers 160

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your classified ad in over
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reaching over 4 MILLION
readers for $475. Call this
newspaper or
(866)742-1373 for more de-
tails or visit wwwflorda-
classifieds.com.

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your clean up a breeze!

Financial

Business
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Money Lenders 310
Tax Preparation 315

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NOTICE
Independent Newspapers will
never accept any advertise-
ment that is illegal or con-
sidered fraudulent. In all
cases of questionable val-
ue, such as promises of
guaranteed income from
work-at-home programs if
it sounds too good to be
true, chances are that it is.
If you have questions or
doubts about any ad on
these pages, we advise that
before responding or send-
ing money ahead of time,
you check with the Better
Business Bureau at
772-878-2010 for previous
complaints.
Some 800 and 900 telephone
numbers may require an
extra charge, as well as
long distance toll costs. We
will do our best to alert our
reader of these charges in
the ads, but occasionally
we may not be aware of the
charges. Therefore, if you
call a number out of your
area, use caution.

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Nonric
NOTICE
The Affordable Housing Advisory
Committee of Okeechobee County
has scheduled its next regular season
for Tuesday, December 9, 2008, at
300 pm in the Board of County
Commissioners meeting chambers at
the Health Department located at 1728
NW 9th Avenue, Okeechobee Flonda
A person deciding to appeal any deci-
sion made by te Commttee with re-
spect to any matter considered at
such meeting will need a record of the
proceedings, and that for such pur-
pose, he or she may need to ensure
that a verbatim record of te proceed-
ings is made, which record includes
the testimony and evidence upon
which the appeal is to be based
Stephany DuPree
Affordable Housing Advsory
Committee Facilitator
302763 ON 12/308
LEGAL NOTICE
Public Auction will be held at Johns Tow-
ng Service storage lot located at 704
Northeast 2nd Avenue, Okeechobee,
Florida 34972 on DECEMBER 19,
2008, at 9 00 A M Pursuant to Florida
Statute 713 78 for unpaid towing and
storage charges Year make, model
and VIN are as follows
1O9 JEEP WRANGLER
VIN#1lJ4FY29P3WP754535
Terms of sale are cash, and no checks
will be accepted Seller reserves the
night of final bid ALL SALES ARE FI-
NALI NO REFUNDS WILL BE, MADE
Said automobiles will be sold in "As is
condion with no guarantee's
302924 ON 12/3/09

I Parts/Repairs 4045

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT IN ANO FOR
OKEEHOBE COUNTY FLORIDA
CASE NO.: 2008-CA-526
NATIONAL CITY BANK
Plaintiff
as
CYNTHIA DAVIS AKA CYNTHIA K DA-
VIS DANIEL DAVIS K/Al DANIEL M
DAVIS, UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF CYN
THIA DAVIS A/KA CYNTHIA K DAVIS,
UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF DANIEL DA-
VIS A/K/A DANIEL M DAVIS, UN
KNOWN TENANT I, UNKNOWN
TENANT II, FIRST FRANKLIN FINAN-
CIAL CORPORATION, any unknown
heirs, devisee's, grantees, creditors,
and other unknown persons or un-
Imown spouses claiming by, through
and under any of the above named De-
tendants
Defendants
NOTICE OF ACTION
TO
DANIEL DAVIS AtA
DANIEL M DAVIS
209 SW TH STREET
OKEECHOBEE, FL 343974
UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF DANIEL
DAVIS //A DANIEL M DAVIS
209 SW TH STREET
OKEECHOBEE, FL 34974
LAST KNOWN ADDRESS STATED
CURRENT RESIDENCE UNKNOWN
And any unknown heirs, devsee's, grant
ees, creditors and other unknown per-
sons or unknown spouses claiming
by through and underthe above
named Defendant(s), f deceased or
whose last know addresses are un-
Imown
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that an ac-
tion to foreclose Mortgage covering
the following real and personal proper-
ty desnbed as follows to-wi
Lols 7 and 8, Block 5, SOUT OKEE-
CHOBEE, according to the Plat there-
of recorded in Plat BOOk 5, Page 7,
public Records of Okeechobee
County, Florida.
has been tiled against you and you are
reuired to serve a copy of yourwrn-
ten defenses, d any, to it on Enn
Amate Zebell Buler & Hosch, PA,
3185 South Conway Road, Suite E,
Onando, Flonda 32812 and file the
ongial wit the Clerk of the above
styled Court or or before 30 days from
the first publication otherwise a Judg
ment may be entered against you for
the relief demanded in the Complaint
WITNESS my hand and seal of said Court
on the 17t day of November, 200
NOTICE REGARDING THE AMERICANS
WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990, In
Accordance wih the Amencans Wit
Disabilities Act, persons needing a
special accommodation to participate
in this proceeding should contact
Court Administraion no later than sev-
en days proper to te proceeding at
250 NW Country Club Dnve, Port St
Luce, Flonda 3498,1 772 807 4370
within two wrkin days of your re-
ceipt of is NOTICE, IF YOU ARE
HEARING IMPAIRED CALL
1 800 955 8771, IFYOU ARE VOICE
IMPAIRED CALL 1 800 955 8770
SHARON ROBERTSON, CLERK
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
By is/ Lnda F young
Deputy Clerk
301754 ON 11/26,12/3/08
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT IN AND FOR
OKEECHOBEE COUNT, FLORIDA
PROBATE DIVISION
CASE NO, 2008-CP-178
IN RE ESTATE OF
MARIE LOUISE LONGWORTH,
a/k/a MARIE LONGWORTH,
Deceased
NOTICE TO CREDrIORS
(Summary Administration)
TO ALL PERSONS HAVING CLAIMS OR
DEMANDS AGAINST THE ABOVE ES-
TATE:
You are hereby noiied that an Order De-
termining Homestead Status of Real
Property and Order of Summary Ad
mmistration has been entered in the
Estate of MARIE LOUISE LONG-
WORTH, aw/a MARIE LONGWORTH,
Deceased, File Number 2008-GP-178
by te Circut Court for Okeechobee
County lorida, Probate Division, the
address of which is 312 NW 3rd
Street, Suite 101, Okeechobee, Flonda
34972 that te decedents date of
death was September 17, 2006, that
the total estate consists of exempt
homestead real property and exempt
personal property, tat the name and
address of the person to whom i has
been assigned by such order are
PATRICIA RADDATZ, 17 Dudley Drive,
Eufala, Alabama 36027
LINDA VAY, 14313 Palmwood Road,
Palm Beach Gardens, 33410
NANCY LOWE, 3608 NW 163rd Court,
Okeechobee, Florida 34972
ROBERT LONGWORTH 1617 Lee Road
12, Lot 314, Auburn, Alabama 36832
ALL INTERESTED PERSONS ARE NOTI-
FIED THAT
All creddors of the decedent and other
persons having clams or demands
against the estate of te decedent otr
er than those for whom provision for
full payment was made in te Order of
Summary Administration must file their
clams within ths court WITHIN THE
TIME PERIODS SET FORTH IN SEC-
TION 733 702 OF THE FLORIDA PRO
BATE CODE
ALL CLAIMS AND DEMANDS NOT SO
FILED WILL BE FOREVER BARRED
NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER AP-
PLICABLE TIME PERIOD, ANY CLAIM
FILED TWO (2) YEARS OF MORE AF-
TER THE DECEDENT'S DATE OF
DEATH IS BARRED.
Te date of the first ubication of this
Notice s December 3,2008
Person Giving Noace
Palenca Raddata
17 Dudley Dnve
Eufala, Alabama 36027
CONELY & LONELY PA
Post Office Drawer 1367
Okeechobee, Flonda 34972
By Tom W Cnely, III
Florida Bar No 096482
302149 ON 12/3,10/08
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
NINETEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN
AND FOR OKEECHOBEE COUNTY,
FLORIDA
CIVIL ACTION
CASE NO. I-ca-29
BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,
Plaintiff
vs
KIMBERLY DAWN DAVENPORT, et al,
Defendants)
NOTICE OF RESCHEDULED
FORECLOSURE SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to
an Order Rescheduling Foreclosure Sale
dated 11/12/2008 and entered in Case
No 08-CA-29 of the Circuit Court of the
NINETEENTH Judicial Circut in and for
OKEECHOBEE County, Flonda wherein
BANK OF AMERICA N A, is the Plaintiff
and KIMBERLY DAWN DAVENPORT are
the Defendants, I will sell to the highest
and best bidder for cash at JURY AS-
SEMBLY ROOM, 2ND FLOOR OKEE-
CHOBEE COUNTY JUDICIAL CENTER,
312 NW 3RD STREET OKEECHOBEE,
FLORIDA 34972 at 11 OOAM, on the 17th
day of December 2008, te following
described property as set forth in said i-
nal Judgment
THE WEST 1/2 OF THE EAST 1/2 OF
THE NORTH 1/2 OF THE NORTH 1/2
OF TRACT 17, SECTION 21 IN THE
SOUTHERN COLONIZATION COMPA-
NY PLAT OF TOWNSHIP 34 SOUTH,
RANGE 33 EAST, ACCORDING TO
THE PLAT THEREOF RECORDED IN
PLAT BOOK 4, PAGES 3 THROUGH
3E, INCLUSIVE, PUBLIC RECORDS
OF OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, FLORIDA,
A/K/A LOT B
A/K/A (VACANT LAND LOT I) 28OTH
STREET, OKEECHOBEE, FL 34972
Any person claiming an interest in the
surplus from the sale, if any, other than
the property owner as of the date of the
LIS Pendens must file a clam within sixty
(60 days after the sale
wITNESS MY HAND and the seal of
this Court on 11/12/2008
SHARON ROBERTSON
Clert of the Circuit Court
By /S/LINDA F YOUNG
Deputy Clerk
301564 ON 12/3,10/08

One man's trash is
another man's treas-
ure. Turn your trash
to treasure with an ad
in the classified.

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 19TH
JUDICIAL CIRCUIT. IN AND FOR
OKEECHOBEE COUNT, FLORIDA
CIVIL DIVISION
CASE NO.: 47-2008-CA-000219
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,
AS TRUSTEE FOR THE STRUCTURED
ASSET INVESTMENT LOAN TRUST,
2006-BNC3,
Plaintiff
as
MICHAEL NYE; VICKI VINSON NYE;
DONNA H. LEE; ROLLAND E. AM-
MONS, JR, UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF
DONNA H. LEE; UNKNOWN SPOUSE
OF ROLLANO E. AMMONS; JOHN
DOE, JANE DOE AS UNKNOWN TEN.
ANTIS) IN POSSESSION OF THE
SUBJECT PROPERTY.
Defendants
NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to
a Final Judgment of Foreclosure dated
the 31st day of Oct. 2008 and entered in
Case No 47-2008-CA-000219, of the
Circuit Court of the 19th Judicial Circuit
in and for Okeechobee County Florida
wherein U S BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIA-
TION AS TRUSTEE FOR THE STRUC-
TURED ASSET INVESTMENT LOAN
TRUST 2006-BNC3 is the Plarnff and
MICHAEL NYE, VCKI VINSON NYE, DON-
NA H LEE, ROLLAND E AMMONS, JR,
UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF DONNA H LEE,
UNKNOWN SPOUSE OF ROLLAND E
AMMONS, JOHN DOE, JANE DOE AS
UNKNOWN TENANTS) IN POSSESSION
OF THE SUBJECT PROPERTY are Deen-
dants I wil sell to the highest and best
bidder for cash at the OKEECHOBEE
COUNTY JUDICIAL CENTER, 312 NW 3rd
STREET JURY ASSEMBLY ROOM, SEC
ON FLOOR, OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA
34972 at the Okeechobee County Court-
house, in Okeechobee Flonda, at 11 00
a m on the 31st day of Dec 2008 the
following described property as set forth
in sad Final Judgment, to wit
THE NORTH 205 FEET OF THE WEST
132 FEET OF LOT 2 IN BLOCK 10,
OKEECHOBEE LITTEL FARMS, AC-
CORDING TO THE PLAT THEREOF
RECORDED IN PLAT BOOK 2, PAGE
100, PUBLIC RECORDS OF OKEE-
CHOBEE COUNTY, FLORIDA. RE-
SERVING HOWEVER, A STRIP OF
LAND 15 FEET WIDE ON THE EAST
SIDE FOR ROAD RIGHT OF WAY.
ANY PERSON CLAIMING AN INTEREST
IN THE SURPLUS FROM THE SALE IF
ANY OTHER THAN THE PROPERTY
OWNER AS OF THE DATE OF THE LIS
PENDENS MUST FILE A CLAIM WITH-
IN 60 DAYS AFTER THE SALE
In accordance with the Americans wit
Disabilties Act of 1990 ADA Disabled
persons who, because of their
disabilities need special accommoda-
tion to participate in this proceeding
should contact not later than seven (7)
days prior t the proceeding Court Ad-
ministration at 772 807 4370,
1-800-955-8771 heanng impaired) or
1-800-955-8770 (voice impaired)
Dated this 4th day of Nov. 2008
Sharon Robertson
Clerk of The Circuit Court
By /S/Linda F Youn
Deputy Clei
Law Office of Marshall C Watson
1800 NW 49th Steet, Suite 120
Fort Lauderdale, Flonda 33309
Telephone (954)453-0365
Facsimile (954)771 6052
Toll Free 1-800-441-2438
299596 ON 12/310/08
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
NINETEENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN
AND FOR OKEECHOBEE COUNTY,
FLORIDA
CIVIL ACTION
CASE NO 47-200S-CA-176
U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,
AS TRUSTEE FOR LEHMAN BROTH-
ERS-STRUCTURED ASSET SE-
CURITIES CORPORATION SASCO
2007 BNCI,
Plantiff
vs
RONALD GRUMBLING
/K/A RONALD D. GRUMBLING, et al,
Defendants)
NOTICE OF RESCHEDULED
FORECLOSURE SAL
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to
an Order Rescheduling Foreclosure Sale
dated 11/12/2008 and entered in Case
No 47-2008-CA-176 of the Circuit Court
of the NINETEENTH Judicial Circuit in
and for OKEECHOBEE County, Florida
where U S BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIA-
TION AS TRUSTEE FOR LEHMAN
BROTHERS STRUCTURED ASSET SE
CURITIES CORPORATION SASCO 2007 -
BNCI, is the Plaintif and RONALD
GRUMBLING A//A RONALD D GRUM
BLING, TENANT #1 N/K/A MATTHEW
GRUMBLING are the Defendants, I will
sell to the highest and best bidder for
cash at JURY ASSEMBLY ROOM, 2ND
FLOOR, OKEECHOBEE COUNTY JUDI-
CIAL CENTER 312 NW 3RD STREET,
OKEECHOBEE, FLORIDA 34972 at
11 OCAM, on the 17t day of December
2008, he following described property
as set forth n said final Judgment
A PARCEL OF LAND LYING IN THE
SOUTHEAST ONE QUARTER (SE 1/4)
OF THE SOUTHWEST ONE QUARTER
SHW 1/4) OF SECTION 22, TOWN-
IP 37 SOUTH, RANGE 35 EAST,
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, FLORIDA,
AND BEING MORE PARTICULARLY
DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:
COMM NCING AT THE NORTHEAST
CORNE OF SAID SOUTHEAST ONE
QUART R OF THE SOUTHWEST ONE
QUART R OF SECTION 22, THENCE
BEAR NORTH B9 DEGREES 06 MIN-
UTES 1 SECONDS WEST, FOR A
I TAHCE OF 128 00 FEET TO THE
NT : BEGINNING; THENCE BEAR
IUTH 0 DEGREES 10 MINUTES 40
CON WEST, ALONG A LINE
RALL L WITH THE EAST LINE OF
IDS THWEST ONE QUARTER OF
CTIO' 22, FOR A DISTANCE OF
8.00 EET; THENCE BEAR NORTH
DEG EES 06 MINUTES 31 SEC-
OS WEST, ALONG A LINE PAAL-
L WITH THE NORTH LINE OF SAID
UTHEAST ONE QUARTER OF THE
UTIIWEST ONE QUARTER OF SEC.
ON 22, FORA DISTANCE OF 162.14
ET TO THE INTERESECITIN WIT
E EAST RIGHT OF WAY LINE 0
SOUTHEAST 9TH AVENUE; THEN
EAR NORIT 00 DEGREES 11 MI -
UTES 14 SECONDS EAST, ALONE
AID EAST RIGHT OF WAY i NE 0
E 9TH AVENUE, FOR A D TANC.
F 10800 FEET TO 'HE INT RSIEC
iON WITH THE Nn'TH LI 'E 0
AID SOUTHEAST ON UAR-ER 0
HE SOUTHWEST ON OUAR-ER 0
SECTION 22; THEN BEAR OUT
9 DEGREES 06 MI UTES 3 SE
NDS EAST, ALONE THE ORT
INE OF SAID SOUTHEAS- ON
QUARTER OF THE S UTHWE T ON
QUARTER OF SECT N 22, OR
DISTANCE OF 162.1 FEET TO TH
POINT OF BEGINNING.
A(/A 1115 SE 9TH AVE.,
OKEECHOBEE, FL 34974
Any person claiming an interest in the
surplus from the sale, i any, other than
the property owner as of the date of the
Us Pendens must file a claim within sity
60) days afterthe sale
WITNESS MY HAND and the seal of
this Court on 11/13/2008
SHARON ROBERTSON
Clerk of the Circuit Court
By /S/ LINDA F YOUNG
Deputy Clerk
NOTICE REGARDING THE AMERICANS
WITH DISABILITIES ACT OF 1990 In ac
cordance with the Americans with
Disabiltes Act, persons needing a spe-
cial accommodation to participate in this
proceeding should contact Court Admin-
istation no after han seven days prior to
the proceeding at 250 NW Country Club
Dnoe, Port St Lucie, Flonda 34986,
1-772-807-4370 within two wonrng
days of our receipt of this NOTICE IF
YOU ARE HEARING IMPAIRED CALL
1-800-955-8771, IF YOU ARE VOICE IM-
PAIRED CALL 1-00 955 -770
3008100N 12/3,10/08
i -

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AMERmCAs
e -ARTS J

Need a few more bucks
to purchase something
deer? Pick up some
extra bucks when you
sell your used items in
the classifeids.

How fast can your car
go? It can go even
faster when you sell it
in the classified.

NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF
PROPOSED COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENTS
NOTICE A PUBLIC HEARING will be held before the Cdy of Okeechobee Planning
BoardBoard of Adluslment and Appeals on Thursday, December 18, 200 al 6 00
p.m. or as soon thereafter as possible The meeting will be held at City Hall, 55
Southeast rd Avenue in the Council Chambers. Room 200, Okeechobee, Floida
To consider a request for a Comprehensive Plan Small Scale Futere Land Use Map
Amendment Applicabon No 08-007-SSA The application is submitted by Muham-
mad Nooruddn, on behalf of property ownerss, A M S A Holdings. LLC The appl
caton is to change the Futre Land Use designation from Multi-Family (MF) to
Commercial C) tor property located at 111 Northeast 11th Sreet
Legal description Lots 17 through 19 of Block 18, Okeechobee according to the
plat thereof recorded in Plat Book 5, Page 5 Public Records of Okeechobee County,
Florida
A copy of the agenda may be obtained from te City website www ctvotokeeche
bee com. or contact te General Services Department, bcemertcrttokneeeh -
bee om. (863) 7633372 x 218 A copy of te entire applcation(s) are available at
the General Services Department The Planning Board will make recommendations
to the Cty Council or consideration and linfa adoption tentatively scheduled for
Tuesday January 6 2009
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE AND BE ADVISED that if any person desires to appeal any
decision made by the Planning Board wi respect to any mater considered at this
meeting, or heanng will need to ensure a verbatim record of the proceedings is
made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is
to be based General Services media are used for the sole purpose of back-up for
the department
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Flonda Statute
286 26, persons with disabilities needing special accommodation to participate in
this proceeding should contact Betty Clement, no later than two (2) working days
pnor to te proceeding at 8637633372 x 218 if you are heanng or voice impaired.
call TDD 1-800-955-8770(voice) or 1-800-955-8771 (TTY)
BY BnanWhtehall, Zoning Administrator
Application N 08 007 SSA
302916 ON 12/3,12/08

NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF
PROPOSED SPECIAL EXCEPTION
NOTICE: A PUBLIC HEARING will be held before the City of Okeechobee Planning
Board/Board of Adjustment and Appeals on Thursday December 18, 2008 at
600pm or as soon tereafter as osble Themeng wll behelda City Hall
55 SE 3rd Avenue, in the Council Chambers, Room 200. Okeechobee, Flonda
To consider Special Exception Peton No 08-012-SE, submited by Kendall S Phil-
lps, Engieer for Midlonda Credit Union, on behalf of property ownerss, Brot-
ers Two Developers, Inc, to allow a Drive-through service with a Heavy
Commercial Zoning District (Ref Code Book Section 90-283(1))
Property is located at 1100 South Parmtt Avenue Legal descripon Lots 1 to 3 and
7 to 9 of Block 16, South Okeechobee, and is approximately 0 98 acres
A copy of the entire applications) and agenda are available in the General Servic-
es Voice, Rm 101 at City Hall or by calng Betty Clement at 863) 763-3372 x
218 Please be advised that the Board of Adjustment and Appeals will serve as
the decision making body (quasi-udicial), on behalf of te City, to approve or
deny Special Excephon Pethons
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE AND BE ADVISED that it any person desires to appeal any
decision made by the Board of Adjustments and Appeas with respect to any mat-
ter considered at this meeting, or heanng w need to ensure a verbabm record of
the proceedings is made, which record includes te testimony and evidence upon
which the appeal is to be based General Services media is for the sole purpose
of backup for official records of the department
In accordance with the Americans wth Disab ties Act (ADA) and Flonda Statute
286 26, persons with dsabil es needing special accommodation to proclpate in
tis proceeding should contact Betty Clement no later than two (2) working days
prior to the proceeding at 863-763-3372 x 21 8 if you are heanng or voice im-
aoird call TDD 1-800-955-8770 (voice) or 1-800-955-8771 (TiY)
BY Bnan Whiteall, Zoning Administrator
PetOton No 08-012-SE
302920 ON 2/312/08

NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF
PROPOSED ZONING RECLASSIFICATION
NOTICE A PUBLIC HEARING will be held before the City of Okeechobee Planning
BoardBoad of Adjustment and Appeals on Thursday, December 18, 2008 at
6:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as possible le meeting will be held at Ciy Hall
55 Southeast 3rd Avenue, in te Council Chambers, Room 200, Okeechabee
Flonda
To consider a request to change te zoning district from Commercial Professional
Office (CPO) to Public FaDclties (PUB) for Petihon No 08 008 R The petition is
being submitted by Colin Cameron, Attorney for ARC/Okeechobee Rehabilitaon,
on behalf of property owners) Okeechobee County The property is located at
43 Northwest 2nd Avenue
Legal description Lots 7 to 12, inclusive, and the South 47 teet of Lots 1 to 6, in-
clusive, plus alleyway lying within the block, of Block 107, Okeechobee, accord-
ing to he plat thereof recorded in Plat Book 5, Page 5 Public Records of
Okeechobee County, Flonda, and is approximately 1 425 acres,
A copy of the agenda may be obtained from the City website wwwitofokeecho-
eecm aor, contact the General Services Department, bcementoucitvolokeech-
bee cam, (863) 763-3372 x 218 A copy of the entire applicalon(s) are available
at the General Services Department Ihe Planning Board will make recommenda-
ions to the City Council for consideration and final adoption tentatively scheduled
for Tuesday, January 20, 2009
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE AND BE ADVISED that if any person desires to appeal any
decision made by the Planning BoardBoard of Adjustments and Appeals with re
spect to any matter considered at this meeting, or heanng will need to ensure a
verbaom record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony
and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based Media are used for the sole
purpose of back-up for the General Services Office
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilites Act (ADA) and Flonda Statute
286 26, persons with disables needing special accommodation to participate in
this proceeding should contact Bety Clement, no later than two (2) working days
prior to the proceeding at 863-763-3372 x 218, i you are heanng or voice im-
paired, call TDD 1 8009558770 (voice) or 1 800 955 8771 (T)
BY Bran Whitehall Zoning Administrator
Petition No 08-008-R
302917 ON 12/3,12/08

NOTICE OF CONSIDERATION OF
PROPOSED ZONING RECLASSIFICATION
NOTICE: A PUBLIC HEARING will be held before the City of Okeechobee Planning
Boardi oard of Adjustment and Appeals on Thursday, Oecember 18, 2008 at
S00 p m or as soon thereafter as possible e meeting will be held at City Hall
55 Southeast 3rd Avenue in the Council Chambers, Room 200, Okeechobee
Flonda
To consider a request to change the zoning distinct from Residental Mutiple Family
(RMF) to Commercial Professional Office (CPO) for Petion No 08-011-R The
petian is being submated by Muhammad Nooruddin on behalf of property own-
er(s) AM SA Holdings. LLC The property is located at 111 Northeast 11th
Street
Legal description Lots 17 to 19 of Block 18, Okeechobee according to the plat
hereof recorded in Plat Book 1, Page 10 Public Records of Okeechobee County
Flonda, and is appmrrmately 0 488 acres,
A copy of the agenda may be obtained from the City website wwwrcvofokeecho-
bee ca or contact the General Services Department, bcIementacitvofokeeche
bee cor. (863) 763-3372 x 218 A copy of the entire appilcahon(s) are available
at the Genera Services Department The Planning Board will make recommenda-
ons to the City Council for consideration and final adoption tentatively scheduled
for Tuesday, January 20, 2009
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE AND BE ADVISED that i any person desires to appeal any
decision made by the Planning Board/Board of Adjustments and Appeals with re
aspect to any matter considered at this meeting or hang will need to ensure a
verbaom record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony
and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based Media are used for the sole
purpose of back-up for the General Services Office
In accordance with the Americans with Disabities Act (ADA) and Flonda Statute
286 26, persons with dsabildes needing special accommodation to participate in
this proceeding should contact Boey Clement no later than two (2) working days
pror to the proceeding at 863-763-3372 x 218, you are heanng or voice im-
paired, call TDD 1800-9558770 (voice) or 1 800 955 8771 (TY
BY Ban Whitehall Zoning Administrator
Petition No 08-011-R
302919 ON 12/3,12/08

NOTICE OF CITY PLANNING BOARD MEETING
NOTICE The City of Okeechobee Planning Board wll meet as the Local Planning
Agency on Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 6 00 p m or as soon thereafter as
possible, to consider any proposed amendments submitted by City Staff or c izens,
to the adopted Ciy Comprehensive Plan, which may include amendments to the
adopted Land Development Regulations (LDR s) All amendments are forwarded,
wit a recommendaon, to toe iy C council for ina consideration The meeting will
be held at City Hall 55 Southeast 3rd Avenue, in the Council Chambers, Room 200,.
Okeechonbee, FIlonda
A copy of the agenda may be obtaned from the City web ste www cityookeecho-
bee com or contact the General Services Department, bIementarcrivookeeche
bee com. (863) 763-3372 x218
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE AND BE ADVISED that if any person desires to appeal any
decision made by the Planning Board wit respect to any matter considered at this
meeting, or heang will need to ensure a verbatim record of the proceedings is
made which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is
to be based General Services media are used for the sole purpose of back up for
the department
In accordance with the Americans with Disablies Act (ADA) and Flonda Statute
286 26, persons with disabilities needing special accommodation to participate in
this proceeding should contact Betty Clement, no later than two (2) woting days
pnor to the proceeding at 863-763-3372 x 218, you are heanng or vice impaired,
call TDD 1800 955 8770 (voice) or 1 800-955 8771 (Y)
BY Bnan Whitehal, Zonng Admiistrator
302911 ON 12/3,12/08

REQUEST FOR BIDS (RFB) 6000000225
S-127 LOCK HOIST RECONSTRUCTION, GLADES COUNTY, FLORIDA
The South Florida Water Management Distnct will receive sealed bids through the
Procurement Office, B-1 Bldg, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, londa
33406, for S-127 Lock Hoisl Reconstruction, Glades County. FL on Tuesday
January 6, 2009 at 2 30 p m local time, at which tmely submitted bids will be
opened and publicly read Work consists of furnishing all matenals, labor, teols &
equipment required to retrofit n testing naigational lock hoist system and con-
struct a concrete canilever support for the retrofit An OPTIONAL prebid confer
ence will be held ONSITE @ S-127 on Friday, December 12, 200B at 9 30 a m
S-127 is located in Glades County, on the northwest shore of Lake Okeechobee lust
south of SR 78 and about 7 miles SW of Okeechobee in Buckhead Ridge Take SR
78 south from Buckhead Ridge (approx 7 miles) Turn left onto S-127 Access Rd
For directions cal (863) 462-5280 x3106 Site vat will immediately follow.
All bids must conform to the nstrucbons in the Request for Bidders RFB Interest-
ed respondents may obtain a copy of the complete RB by obtaining a CD for $5 00
at the above address, by calling (561) 682 6391, or by calling the 24 hour BID
HOTLINE 00-472-5290 The public is invited to attend the bid opening Informa-
tion on the status of this solicitation can he obtained at our web site -
www stwmd gov
302207 ON 12/3/08

REQUEST FOR BIDS (RFBO 6000000226
ACCESS BRIDGE BANK REPAIRS- G-, S-133 AND -135,
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, FLORIDA
The South Florida Water Management Distnct will receive sealed bids through the
Procurement Office, B-1 Bldg, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, Flonda
33406, for the Access Bndge Bank Repairs G-36, S-133 and S-135 project Okee-
chobee County, Flonda on Tuesday, January 6, 2008 al 2 30 p m local time, at
which timely submited bids will be opened and publicly read Project is for the re-
par of eroded banks under access bndges leading to specified pump stations and
lock structures The banks are to be repaired utilizing aluminum sheet pile, rein
forced concrete, back ll, sodding and rock rprap
An OPTIONAL prebid conference will be held on Thursday, December 11, 2008 at
1 00 pm at te Okeechobee Field Station Bl11 Conference Room), 1000 NE 40th
Avenue, Okeechobee FL For directions call 863) 462-5280 A site visit will im-
mediately follow
All bids must conform to the instructions in the Request for Bidders (RFB Interest-
ed respondents may obtan a copy of e complete RFB by obanina C for 500
at the above address, by calling (561) 682-2715, or by calling the 24-hour BID
HOTLINE 800-472-5290 The public is invited to attend the bid opening Informa-
tinon nhe status of this solictalion can be obtained at our web site -
www sawmd gov
302369 ON 12/3 CGS 12/4/08

I Publicn~k- Notic

Public NoticeI 50

14 Okeechobee News, Wednesday, December 3,2008

I PublicNotic II50

December brings hunting traditions

PROJECT NO OCSB20735 INVITATION FOR SEALED BIDS
CLASSROOM ADDITION
INVITATION FOR SEALED BIDS
Sealed bids will be received by h Operallons Office of THE SCHOOL BOARD OF
OKEECHOBEE COUNTY FLORIDA, 938 NE 34t1 Street, Okeechobee, Flonda 34972
up to 10:0 am. January 29, 2009 for all malena and labor necessary for below
CAUTION BID PACKAGES SENTBYOVERNIGHT CARRIER
QUITE OFTEN DO NOT ARRIVE ON TIME)
Classroom Addalon
Sernn d El ntnary Schod
2690 NW42nd Avenue
Okeechobee, Floda 34972
Plans and specfeatons amre on le in office of
Dale Barref, Director of peraions
938 NW 34#1 Stree
Okeechoee, FL 34972
863-462-5083, e-203
and
BMK Architects, Inc
323 Central Avenue
Sarasoa, FL 34236
941-365-6056
Copies of sad plans and specNficaons may be obtained at the office of said Archi-
let or the office of Dale Barret, upon the depos of $100 00 for one set of plans
and specifcatlns; said deposit wll be returned to the conctor upon return of said
P and specicaionsin good condition, and upon receipt of a boa fide bid
a hid shall be a accmpaned by te following:
SLstof Sub-Bidders wt whom the conactor will sub-contract wrk in connec-
ioo with this project
SBid Bond in the aount of 5% of te maimum bid, payable to e School Board
of Okeechobee County, as evidence of good faN and guaranteeing that the suc-
cessful bidder wll execute and furnish to the School Boad of Okeechobee County
In a good and sufficient performance bond as required by Ronda Stalue Secbon
101347 in the pe sum of 100% of the escalated amount of the contact guar-
ansteing the performance of said contact
Failure to provide any of the documents out-
lined above will be grounds for rejection
of the bad.
All bids shal be placed in an envelope, sealed, and addressed to the School Board
of Okeechobee County, and he name of the project should be placed on the outside
of the envelope and words indicating that the envelope contains a bid for said pro-
lec
MANDATORY PRE-BID CONFERENCE Thursday, January 8, 200910DO am, pre-
vali n tme at the office of Dale Barrett Director of Operaons, 938 NW 34th Street,
Oeechobee, FL 34972 The following documents shal accompany the OwnerCon-
tractor AgreemenL
*Payment Bond as required by Secion 1013.45 and 255 05, Ronda StaButes
guaraneing the payment of all debts peraining thereto Each bond shal be is-
sued by a surely company licensed and athonzed to do business in he State of
Florida having a general bond holder's rating of A+ excellent and a financial
racing of BBB + or better in Flioda saisfactory o the Owner, within te(10 days
after being awarded the contract, th premiums of said bonds to e pad y the
Conractor Said bonds to be recorded accordance wit School Board rsuc-
lons
Public Entyl Crimes sworn statement under Secton 287 1333)(a), Ronida Sta-
utes
Drug Free Workplace Cerfificalhon
Trench Safety Affidavit, if applicable
*Signatre Acknowledgemet of te Jessica Lunsford Act. Section 1012465,
Fleoda Statues
The Conactor will be required to have he project substanally completed within 12
months of Noce to Proceed and have he punch lit ems and sie cleanup, totally
completed within 30 days thereafter Failure to do so will result in Iqidaed damage
es in the amount of $50000 per day for each day he date of actual ubstantal
compleon exceeds to scheduled date of substaihal completion, and a further sum
of $100 00 per calendar day in liquidated damages for each day the date of actual
final complBion exceeds th scheduled date of faal compleion
The successful bder, it any, will be noted within 15 days after the bid is accept-
ed
The School Board of Okeechobee Counly reserves the night to reject any and al bids
and to waive any informalibes, All proposals shall remain li force for 30 days after
Ie date of opening
THE SCHOOL BOARD OF OKEECHOBEE COUNTY FLORIDA
SPahticiaG Cooper, Ed.DSuperintendentof Schools
30013 ON 13,10,17/08

By Tony Young
There's finally a chill and a cer-
tain festiveness in the air as most
of us try to take time off from
work to enjoy spending qual-

ity time with family and friends
and reflect on the passing year.
Children will be out of school on
winter break soon, and while the
holiday season's upon us, so are
several traditional hunting oppor-
tunities.
The second phase of water-
fowl and coot season comes
in statewide Dec. 6 and runs
through Jan. 25. In addition to the
usual hunting license and permit
requirements, duck hunters also
must have a Florida waterfowl
permit ($3) and a federal duck
stamp ($15).
The daily bag limit on ducks
is six, but you need to know your
ducks before you pull the trig-
ger, because there are different
daily limits for each species. For
instance, within the six-bird limit
there can be only one black duck,
one mottled duck, one fulvous
whistling-duck and one pintail.
Only two of your six-bird limit
can be redheads and three may

be wood ducks. And you may
have no more than four scoters
and four mallards (of which only
two can be female) in your bag.
All other species of ducks can
be taken up to the six-bird limit,
except harlequin ducks, and can-
vasback season is closed.
This year, the daily bag limit on
scaup has changed, and you may
take only one through Jan. 5; then
you can take two from Jan. 6, un-
til waterfowl season ends Jan. 25.
The daily limit on coots is 15, and
there's a five-bird limit on mer-
gansers, only two of which may
be hooded.
When hunting waterfowl,
hunters may use only non-toxic
shotgun shells. In fact, it's illegal
for hunters even to possess lead
shot when waterfowl hunting.
Only iron (steel), bismuth-tin and
various tungsten-alloys are per-
missible.
For something different, try
woodcock hunting. Woodcock

-
Submitted photo/OHS

Students of the Week
Okeechobee High School Students of the Week for last week were (back row, left to right)
Victor Gandarilla, Jose Aguilar, Ricardo Herrera, Ruth Solarzano, (front row, left to right)
Griselda Hernandez, Rosie Ascencio, Priscilla Aguilar and Naraly Garcia.

"Copyrighted Materialm

Syndicated Content

Available from Commercial News Providers"

an

ft 11 1

Basket drawings
Riverside Bank will be selling tickets for baskets which will be donated by Dave's Com-
munications (left to right) Sonia Nunez, Shauna Tindall, Sarah Simpson, Jonathan Holt,
Jamie Webber, Sherri Enfinger and Megan Gwaltney which includes a Bluetooth headset,
gift certificate and other holiday items. All proceeds go to the March of Dimes. Drawings
for baskets will take place throughout the holiday season and up until the March of Dimes
walk in March, 2009. For more information call 863-824-0400 at 1506 S. Parrott Ave.

Christian Academy

hosts annual fundraiser

By Teresa Mataushek
Okeechobee News
Okeechobee Christian Acad-
emy (OCA) will hold it's 13th An-
nual Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser
on Friday, Dec. 5, from 11 a.m.
until 2 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 6,
from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Dinner includes spaghetti,
green beans and roll for a $5 do-
nation.
On Friday, the dinner is drive
through only, for orders of 5 or
more, delivery will be available.
Dine in will be available on Sat-
urday.
In conjunction with the din-
ner, from 3 until 6 p.m. there

will be a silent auction held. Do-
nations for the auction are still
being accepted. If you are inter-
ested in donating an item for the
auction, you may bring it by the
school office and drop it off.
Also on Saturday, OCA will be
doing something new as part of
the fundraiser. From 9 a.m. until
4 p.m. they will hold a Chapel
Quilt Show. A $5 donation will
gain you entrance to view the
quilts that will be displayed in
the church sanctuary.
70 quilts have been entered
so far. If you are interested in
entering a quilt, please contact
Joan Caves at 863-763-3072.

There will be a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and
viewer's choice ribbon awards
handed out.
As always, this fundraiser is to
continue relations with the com-
munity and to help the school
on an overall for the remainder
of the year. Proceeds from the
event will go directly back into
the school to help with whatever
needs they may have.
If you are interested in volun-
teering at this event, Okeecho-
bee Christian Academy more
than welcomes you. You can get
more information on the event
and volunteering by calling the
school at: 863-763-3072.

FWC reopens two wildlife

management areas
The Florida Fish and Wildlife particularly deer. The water levels The
Conservation Commission has re- have since receded. in Con
opened Everglades and Francis S. Taking game remains prohib-
Taylor wildlife management areas ited, except for ducks, coots, and schedu
to public access. Legal hunting, snipe. close D
fishing, frogging and recreational i [T T'I
use are once again permitted.
The areas were closed by ex- neSw
ecutive order in August, after high
water levels jeopardized wildlife, Free

general gun-walk season
servation Area 3A North,
led to open Nov. 29 and
'ec. 28, is cancelled.

season runs Dec. 20-Jan. 18.
Woodcocks are excellent game
birds because they hold well for
pointing bird dogs and provide a
challenging shot when flushed.
The daily bag limit is three.
The third phase of mourning
and white-winged dove season
opens Dec. 13 and runs through
Jan. 11. The daily bag limit's been
increased this year to 15 birds.
From November on, shooting
hours for all migratory birds are
one-half hour before sunrise to
sunset. You must get a no-cost
migratory bird permit where you
purchase your hunting license be-
fore you hunt any of these birds,
though.
The only firearm you're al-
lowed to hunt migratory game
birds with is a shotgun, no larger
than 10-gauge. Shotguns must be
plugged to a three-shell capacity
(magazine and chamber com-
bined). Bows also are legal.
Retrievers and bird dogs can be
useful in hunting migratory game
birds. Artificial decoys, as well as
manual or mouth-operated bird
calls, also are legal and essential
gear for duck hunters.
You may hunt migratory game
birds over an agricultural field, as
long as the crop's been planted
by regular agricultural methods.
However, don't even think about
"sweetening" the field by scat-
tering agricultural products over
it or anywhere near it-or you
could wind up in serious trouble.
It doesn't matter if you aren't the
one who scattered the bait. If you
knew or should've known that
such bait was present, you're ac-
countable under the law.
Some other things you can't
do while hunting migratory game
birds include using rifles, pistols,
crossbows, traps, snares, nets,
sinkboxes, swivel guns, punt
guns, battery guns, machine
guns, fish hooks, poisons, drugs,
explosive substances, live decoys,
recorded bird calls or sounds or
electrically amplified bird-call imi-
tations. Shooting from a moving
automobile or boat and herding
or driving birds with vehicles or
vessels also are against the law.
Bobcat and otter hunting season
is Dec. 1 March 1, and there's no
daily bag or season limit on either
species.
Like foxes, bobcats may be
chased year-round with dogs, but
possessing firearms during the
closed season between March 2
and Nov. 30, is prohibited. On a
few wildlife management areas,
bobcats and otters may not be
taken, so please consult the spe-
cific area brochure before you
hunt.
Whether upland bird hunting
with friends and family, shooting
ducks on the pond with your fa-
vorite lab or taking that big bob-
cat as he slips up behind an un-
suspecting fawn, December has
the hunting opportunities you're
looking for.
Here's wishing you happy
holidays and a successful hunting
season. If you can, remember to
introduce someone new to our
great sport. As always, have fun,
hunt safely and ethically, and we'll
see you in the woods!

Snook

seasons

close in

December

There are two snook harvest
seasons closing in December.
The first snook closure starts on
Dec. 1, in all of Florida's Gulf of
Mexico, Everglades National Park
and Monroe County coastal and
inland waters. The harvest season
for snook will remain closed until
March 1, in these areas.
All other Florida waters will
close to the harvest of snook be-
ginning on Dec. 15. This includes
all Atlantic coastal and inland wa-
ters, including Lake Okeechobee
and the Kissimmee River. The
harvest season for snook will re-
main closed until Feb. 1, in these
areas.
The closed harvest seasons
protect Florida's valuable snook
populations during the colder
months, when snook are most
vulnerable, and help sustain and
improve the fishery for the fu-
ture.

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Okeechobee News, Wednesday, December 3, 2008 15

OMS basketball splits games with Oslo Middle

By Charles M. Murphy
Okeechobee News
Tight defense propelled a
young Osceola Middle School
Warriors basketball team to a 22-
13 victory in their home opener
over Oslo Monday.
Garionna Johnson had eight
points and Amber Cunningham
added six points to lead the Lady
Warriors. Aaliyah Hall had five
points to lead Oslo (Vero Beach).
"I'm excited for my girls,"
Warriors Coach Cathy Jones said,
"They have been working very
hard in practice. Until you play
another team you don't know
how they'll react."
Osceola is basically a new
team this year. All five starters are
now in the ninth grade. The War-
riors used good defense, and a lot
of steals to win the game. Oslo
also shot poorly from the field.
Both teams failed to score in
the first quarter. Oslo led 3-0 after
a lay up and a free throw midway
through the second quarter. Os
ceola responded with a 10-0 run
to end the half. Steals by Cunning-
ham, Johnson and Prissy McDon-
ald helped fuel the run.
Jones said defense leads to of-

fense and her team got a lot of easy
buckets off turnovers, "When you
can do that it lust carries you into
the next quarter. We were able to
hang on and get a victory. I'm just
so proud of these girls because
they never gave up."
Oslo got as close as 13-8 in the
third quarter but struggled might-
ily on offense. They shot over 50
field goal attempts and made just
seven. A three point play by Beth-
any Stuart gave the Warriors a 19-
12 lead early in the fourth quarter
and they were never threatened
again.
The boy's team got off to a
slow start and that cost them
against a talented Oslo squad.
The Warriors trailed 17-2 after
the first quarter and couldn't dig
themselves out of the early hole.
Sylvester Butler had 17 points
to lead Osceola. Eddie Neal had
eight points and DJ Washington
had five points for Osceola. Oslo
was led by Brennan Shaw who
had 11 points.
Osceola could not get the lead
under double digits after the first
quarter. They did have their mo-
ments as they had superior speed
and defense. Osceola struggled
shooting the ball.

Okeechobee News/Charles Murphy
Zane Moreland (center) is sandwiched between two Oslo de-
fenders during the first half of Monday's game.

Okeechobee News/Charles Murphy
Amber Cunningham #15, had six points. She added a num-
ber of steals on defense.

Boys' hoops rebounds with big win

Call NOW!
863-357-9967
14 S. Parrott Ave. B
Okeechobee. FL

Las

By Charles M. Murphy
Okeechobee News
David Jeune had a triple dou
ble with 24 points and over 10
rebounds and assists as Okeecho-
bee High School evened their
basketball record at (1-1) with
a 75-33 wipe out of Lake Placid
Monday Night.
June out rebounded, out ran,
out jumped, and out shot the
hapless Green Dragons Monday
night. He also helped his team-
mates improve their game with
several outstanding assists. Austin
Willard was one of the beneficia-
ries as he had 14 points. Corey
White had 10 points.
"We slowed down our turn-
overs tonight. We played as a
team and we ran our offense,"
Willard said afterward. "I thank
my teammates for my points."
Willard said the bench played
as well as the starters and the
Dragons couldn't match the Brah-
mans intensity.
Head Coach Jon Enrico was
glad to see the intensity after
last week's loss to Clewiston. He
noted Okeechobee missed 10
layups and nine free throws last
week and also allowed too many
easy buckets. He promised that
his team wouldn't give away any
more games.
"With that kind of intensity on
any night we're going to win. The
kids worked hard tonight. David
was unbelievable," he noted.
Enrico messed around with
the starting lineup and got good

performances from Joey Voss,
eight points, and Ryan Osceola.
"The bench did a good job. It's a
true team here," he said.
Okeechobee led 17-10 after
the first quarter and held a 34-16
lead at the break. Okeechobee
led 53-25 after three quarters.

Lake Placid was led by Trava
lier Shatz who had 12 points.
Okeechobee did a great job forc-
ing turnovers. Lake Placid also
had very few offensive rebounds.
Duelle Gore had six points,
Matt Skipper five points, Ryan Os
ceola four points, and Terrance

On Halloween weekend (Oct.
31- Nov. 2, 2008) our local OHS
Rodeo Team along with the other
members of the FHSRA (Florida
High School Rodeo Association)
traveled to Perry, Georgia. This
spectacular event is known as the
"South Eastern
Showdown". Six
states compete
against each
other in all of
rodeo events.
Along with our
standard rodeo
events we com
peted in a toy for
tots drive, grand Jacoby
entry extrava- Johns
ganza, and state
with the most
spirit. Florida has
the largest team
of the six states,
not to mention
the top cowboys
and cowgirls
from around the
southeast area. Raybon
Everyone gave Durrance
100 percent and
it really showed.
The team would
like to thank all
of the parents,
sponsors, team
members and
friends who
made this event .
a success.
The results John
for our OHS Ro- Gomez
deo Team mem
bers:
Pole Bending: Breanne Lee
placed 14th overall and 6th in
Florida. Raybon
Durrance placed
17th overall
and 7th in Flor-
ida. Carlie La-
nier placed 31st
overall, Megan
McNabb placed
37th overall,
and Cheyenne Maci
Fallman placed Culligan
62nd overall
Team Rop-
ing: Breanne
Lee and Maci
Culligan placed
12th overall and
7th in Florida
and Nat Strat-
ton placed 15th
overall and 8th Carlie
in Florida! Lanier
Barrel Rac
ing: Lexi Peaden
placed 28th
overall, Raybon
Durrance placed
47th overall, Car-
lie Lanier placed ..
70th overall,
Kayla Davis
placed 75th
overall, Megan Garrett
McNabb placed Rucks
80th overall, Cheyenne Fallman
placed 82nd overall, and Chelsea
McNabb placed
88th overall.
Steer
Wrestling: John
Gomez placed
9th overall and
3rd in Florida.
Break-
away: Maci Cul-
ligan placed 4th Jacob
overall and 1st Anuez
in Florida.
Tie Down -
Calf Roping:
Garrett Rucks
placed 6th over-
all and Jacob An-
uez placed 22nd
overall, and 7th
in Florida!
Goat Ty-
ing: Lexi Peaden Lexi
placed 31st over- Peaden
all, and 10th in
Florida, Megan
McNabb placed
58th overall.
Bareback
Riding: Jacoby
Johns won the
overall average
buckle for the
entire rodeo! Megan
He placed 1st McNabb
overall and 1st
in Florida.
The OHS team made quite an
impact. Ther FHSRA team won
the average in bull riding, team
roping, barrel racing, steer wres-
tling, and goat tying.
Even though the rodeo team's
weekends are filled with rodeos,
the members have been making
every attempt to give back to the
community. They attended the
grand opening of the New Eques-
trian Community at Sun Creek,
where members demonstrated
their roping and horsemanship
abilities. The team also spent
hours making western ornaments
and decorating a Christmas tree
which is currently on sale at the
Hospice of Okeechobee's annual
Festival Of Trees. The team will
be working at the Horse and Tack
Auction on Dec. 13, beginning
at 11 a.m., at 4793 Hwy. 441 S.,
(behind Lunkers). The public is
welcome.

Look for their float in the an-
nual Christmas Parade on Dec.
13. The team is also participat-
ing with the Florida High School
Rodeo Association in a toy drive
that will benefit our local Real
Life Children's Ranch. If you

have any questions or would like
to help please feel free to call Ro-
deo Coach Melissa Mckay at 863-
824-0101 or 863-634-1962.
The next Florida High School
Rodeo will be in Okeechobee on
Dec. 6 and 7, at the Cattlemans

Arena located across from the
hospital on Highway 441N. The
rodeo will begin at 10 a.m. The
OHS team would like to invite ev-
eryone to come out and support
the hometown team. They will
reserve seating for all Okeecho-

bee School Faculty and would
like to ask the contestants' teach-
ers and school staff to come out
and see why the team works so
hard to keep their grades up.
There will be a Cutting event
Friday, Dec. 5 at Adams Ranch

on Hwy. 70 East at 7 p.m.
For more on high school ro-
deo online, see the Florida High
School Rodeo Association Web
site at www.fhsra.homestead.
com.